A Hero is Born
by ThatAngryNinja
Summary: After receiving a mysterious ring in the mail, sixteen year old Nate Mendoza realizes that dreams can come true, a dream that sends him to the world of Pokémon. Pokémon, having both humanoid and animal forms, they're not the friendly beings we grew to love in the games. Edited by PikachuSavesTheDay
1. Chapter 1 - The Ring

**"W**IGGLES, NO!" I scream as my Butterfree died in a Nuzlocke challenge.

Everyone in class looks up from their test and chuckles. No one expects that from me, even the teacher jumps from his chair from my sudden outburst.

"Sorry guys. Kinda was, um, daydreaming there."

"Nate Mendoza, see me after class," Mr. Johnson tells me as he goes back to grading the previous periods' math tests.

"Yes sir," I say as I go back to playing on my graphing calculator, which has Pokémon Gold installed in it.

"Oh, you're in for it big," my friend next to me says. She has known that I play in class since math is my best subject but never expected me to get caught in that manner.

"Yeah, yeah, Lauren," I reply as I go to put my Butterfree in the "death box" at the PokéCenter.

"I'm on good terms with him and I can slide by without any problem. I'll just say I was reading a story on my calculator and was too emotionally involved with the characters."

"Sure, that'll work. Go back to your game while I finish this test."

"Fine then," as I start to look through my PC to see if anything could replace my Wiggles. _I guess Pidgeotto will do..._

Forty minutes pass with me playing till the lunch bell came. People start to pack up their belongings, talking about the test with their friends while I stay behind.

"Lauren, I'll catch up with you after I'm done talking with Mr. Johnson." She raises her hand and leaves, leaving me alone with Mr. Johnson. I slowly approach him with my Hatsune Miku messenger back across my side, graphing calculator hidden within.

"Mr. Johnson?" I ask in an uncertain voice, slightly questioning his name.

Mr. Johnson sighs deeply, "Nate, I know this class is easy for you. You play on your calculator all period and still ace the test but can you please refrain from yelling out in class." He grabs his laptop and heads towards the door. "I'm leaving now, and I have to lock the door, so I need you out."

"Yes sir," I say as I walk through the door. I turn around to Mr. Johnson. "Sir, I know this won't change anything, but I do listen to your lessons and you're a great teacher. It's just that math is really easy for me and I need something to fill the other part of my brain that isn't being used."

"Thanks, but try not to make it as obvious as you did this time. It's just going to distract everyone in class," he turns and walks towards the teacher's lounge to have his lunch.

I arrive home first, as my parents are still at work and sister is doing her sports. As I approach the door, I see a small package on the doorstep. I pick it up and it is addressed to me with no information on who sent.

Curiosity piques within me but I don't open it just yet. I've read and seen too many situations where the protagonist receives a mysterious package, changing their lives forever. Still, my interest sky rockets as the package is just in my hand.

"Well, I'll open it up later. I've got some homework to finish up."

Opening the front door, I walk in, greet my dog, and go to my room to finish the homework.

* * *

Hours pass by while I do my various homework assignments, with the occasional break here and there. But this nagging thought keeps preventing me from full concentration on doing my assignments. _What's in that package?_ I still don't open it, even with that persistent question in my head.

Around ten o'clock, I give in to my inner thoughts and open the package. Preparing for the worst, I wrap a bandanna around my nose and mouth in case poisonous gas leaks out.

"Damn, I must be paranoid," I say aloud to myself.

The package was about the size of a deck of cards but half the width with the typical Manila paper envelope around it. I slowly tear the top of the package as far away from my body as possible. Relieved that no visible gas was escaping the opening, I finish tearing the Manila package open, it accidentally slipping out of my hand.

Luckily, nothing happens as it hits the ground. I pick up the package and a small metal ring falls out.

_Interesting, apparently I'm not wanted dead._

It was an unadorned ring at first glance. Grey-silver was the color and it doesn't shine particularly well in the light. Further examination of the ring reveals a phrase on the inside, written in beautiful calligraphy; it says: "Your dreams will come true."

"Huh. This has to be a joke, right? All that trouble of opening a package, and gives me a ring." I start to get frustrated but soon calm down. I quickly analyze the situation as this isn't normal.

_Obviously the ring was nothing special. Anyone could've bought it. The engraving on the inside though, that probably cost a bit. That calligraphy must have made it much more expensive as it looked handwritten. Putting the ring on my ring finger, it's a perfect fit. This person must have gotten lucky with my finger size or has somehow come across that information._

Getting out of my analytical phase, I get up from sitting and quietly say, "I'll play your game. My dreams better come true then."

Soon afterwards I start getting tired and head to my bed. Before turning off the light, I make sure the ring is on me. Tiredly, I turn off the lights and say, "Time to see if this works."

Little prepared me in my sixteen years of life for what awaits me in the future...


	2. Chapter 2 - A Hero Awakens

**"U**gh…" I say as I groggily awake from my slumber. "Why does my head hurt so much? It's like I was sleeping on hardwood flo-" That's when my vision clears and I notice this isn't my room.

The room is fairly simple. A twin-size bed with a black nightstand nearby; a light blue paint coating adorns this square room. Across from the foot of the bed is a hanging mirror.

I walk up to the mirror after collecting myself. My slightly-built body at five feet, four inches is the same as my facial features are. Slightly angular face, but there's still some baby fat present, fairly normal sized nose, not too big or too small, slight squint in the eyes, but nothing too noticeable and somewhat thick eyebrows that are obviously kempt.

"Hmm, it appears I haven't changed much." Then I remember the ring. "Wait up. Did my dream actually come true? I do remember dreaming about Pokémon, but there's no way this can be real. Dreams and reality are in two separate realms that don't correlate with each other."

As I continue to talk to myself, a young woman enters the room and screams, "Clara!"

I am scared witless. "Miss. Please. I don't know where I am or how I ended up here. I don't know what to do…" I plead with her until a large bird shows up behind her.

Standing at about three and a half feet tall, this is the largest bird I've ever seen. With large talons, red feathers slicked back across its head, a light brown wing color and short, cream-colored feathers covering the chest, it starts to come towards me. I then notice the long tail feathers which are either red or orange that compliments the red feathers on the head. Then the eyes, they show no fear; only pure determination to accomplish what must be done.

Terrified and hyperventilating, I start backing away from this beast. "Miss, I'm no intruder to your household. I just found myself in this room when I woke up. I'm just as confused as you are about this situation."

The woman, not buying any of it, starts to command her bird, "Clara, subdue him. Just, don't kill him."

The large bird nods in acknowledgement and starts to lift its wings, which are an impressive fifteen feet wing span, before I suddenly drop to my knees, hands behind my head.

"I give up. I don't know what's going on. I'm terrified and confused. Your bird can easily overpower me and I'm in position to fight back. Can you please accept my surrender?" _I just took the coward's way out. What the hell's wrong with me?_

Startled, the bird cocks its head back to its owner and from its beak came, "Pidgeotto?"

* * *

**I** face-palm right then and there.

_She forgot her necklace, again. I've got a Pidgeotto who can't "talk" to me, a stranger who happens to be in my house, clearly just as confused as I am. It's got to be a Thursday. I've never really liked Thurs-_

Hysterical laughter and jumbled phrases break my train of thought.

"It's...real! That ring… really did send...me to the...Pokémon world! And here...I thought it was just...some prank."

Bewilderment spread across my face as he says that. "Um, are you okay?" Still more hysterical laughter from the stranger.

_If everything he's said is true, or at least partly true, he doesn't pose any threat at all. And what's he talking about the Pokémon world? There's only one world and it's this one._

"Clara, do you mind going back to put your necklace on and change form? This man doesn't pose any threat to us."

She nods and leaves the room

"Alright, I'll try and talk to him."

* * *

**I** start to calm down from my bout of hysteria as I notice the Pidgeotto leaving the room.

_Am I no longer a threat, or is it going to get something more dangerous? Please, don't be a Charizard, I don't want to be cooked alive._

Still in my thoughts, playing out the scenario if a Charizard comes, the woman approaches me.

"Are you okay?" she asks in a concerned voice.

I quickly dart my head up and pleadingly with a hint of fear, "Please don't send a Charizard. I don't want to be cooked alive." My eyes are watering up as the thought of dying is present.

She starts to laugh, "Even if I had a Charizard, I'm not that mean to have a person cooked alive if they have no chance of defending themselves."

_Okay, she doesn't have a Charizard and she doesn't have any intentions of killing me. I think I'm safe for the moment._

"Um, my name's Nate. I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble for you."

She regains her composure shortly after. "Nice to meet you, Nate. My name's Holly and do you mind telling me just how this situation came to be?"

Still slightly confused about her sudden change of tone, I quickly nod my head.

"Just follow me downstairs. I'll get some tea ready," Holly offers her hand to help me up, and I gladly accept. Though her hands are petite in size, she has a strong grip.

I follow behind her as we leave the room. She is roughly two inches taller than me with straight, auburn-colored hair down to her shoulders. Slim, but not anorexic, she has a healthy shine from her lightly bronzed tan. She looks like she is in her mid-twenties but with women, it's hard to tell.

Exiting the room, we enter a hallway that leads towards a staircase. On the walls are pictures of her family. In one photo, there are two middle-aged adults, most likely the parents, a young boy around the age of seven, and what seems to be a young Holly. She appears to be in her preteen years when the photo was taken. Then I notice a Pidgey on her shoulder and a Pikachu in the boy's arms, snuggled comfortably in his warm embrace.

We continue in silence, walking down the hallway to the staircase. She pauses for a second before turning to me, "I forgot to ask, what type of tea do you like?"

I love tea as much as I love sleep, and I LOVE sleep, "What do you have?"

"There's green tea, green tea with honey, ginseng, earl grey, pecha delight, dragon pearl, and one more, let me think..." she thinks about it as we start to go downstairs. "Ah! The last one is acai joy."

"So many choices! Uh, I'll just have the regular green tea, please."

"I think I'll have the same. Haven't had green tea in a while."

Heading towards the end of the staircase, she turns left into what seems to be the living room and a little further is the dining room and kitchen. We walk straight past the living room. It has a half circle couch with black leather upholstery and a forty inch flat screen TV hanging on the wall in front of it. It looks like no one has been using it for a while.

_Is she the only one living here, Pidgeotto? It seems so quiet and lonely in here. By the way, where is that Pidgeotto?_

We enter the dining room; I notice it was a square table made of wood. The corners are rounded and the table legs curved inwards only to come out a little bit. I take a seat that faces towards Holly as she enters the kitchen and starts preparing the tea.

"It'll take about five to seven minutes, okay?"

"The wait's fine for me. I'm more than grateful for you not killing me and offering me a drink, I'll be more than happy to wait for a little bit."

She turns towards me and gives me a grin. I had seen her face before but was in no mental state to get a clear look at her. She has an angular face like mine, but a bit more rounded. Large chestnut eyes that brim with life and a petite nose and mouth that tops off the whole thing.

Just then, a female figure enters the dining room. She has a fairly decent sized chest but with a baggy tee shirt on, it's hard to tell. Her hair is deep red in color, reaching down to the middle of her back. Red and orange tail feathers protrude from her back, telling me she isn't entirely human. Standing at about five foot three inches, she looks quite charming, even though she isn't completely human.

"Miss, I've returned like you asked." This person turns to me and gives a cold stare. Her eyes say, _Don't try anything funny._

_What did I ever do to her? This is the first time I've met her._

Holly greets this person, "Ah, Clara, this is our new guest." She points to me, "Clara, this is Nate. Nate, this is Clara."

I get up from my chair and walk towards her, saying, "Clara, nice to meet you," as I offer my hand to shake hers.

She looks at my hand warily, but takes it nonetheless. Though her handshake is not particularly strong, it is not too weak either. She's uncertain with the whole ordeal of her previous opponent being welcomed in her home.

"Hi," she says coldly, keeping her eyes on mine as if trying to read my inner thoughts. She releases her grip first, taking a step back, slightly pleased with herself as she sees no threat from me.

Holly overlooks our introduction and announces, "Tea is ready. Clara, would you like stay with us? Nate is going to tell his story."

Clara nods and takes the seat opposite of me as Holly sets the tea on the table. I grab my cup and taste it. It is definitely brewed with high-quality tea leaves.

"It's really good. Thank you so much," I normally say that out of habit if someone offers me something, but this time I really mean it. This tea is really good.

"You're welcome," she places her cup down. "Before you start, I'd like to apologize for sending Clara to attack you when we first met." She looks at Clara. "I thought you were some thief, or worse."

Confusion spread across my face as I said, "Are you telling me that this charming woman attacked me?" Clara looks up too and blushes a little, but returns back to her calm demeanor as I turn to her. "What attacked me was a bird, not a woman."

Holly cocks her head to the side, "Wait, you didn't know that Pokémon had humanoid forms alongside their normal appearance?"

"Um, no. I thought they only had their Pokémon forms only," I said, disbelief in my voice prevalent.

Holly turns to Clara, "Clara, do you mind?"

Clara pushes her chair back and leaves the table. She walks to the space between the living room and dining room as they aren't connected by a hallway. A white light engulfs her whole body as the clothes simply fall away from her. Just as soon as it starts, it ends. What is in front of us is the same Pidgeotto who I met earlier.

Astonishment spreads across my face as I see this, "Well, that changes everything."

* * *

**"B**oss, we've just received a signal from the device we sent through the Dimensional Warper. Though the chances were slim, it's back in our world."

I look up from my desk towards the messenger of good news, "Good. Now why don't we retrieve our little device, then?"

The messenger leaves, leaving me alone in my office. "Well Nate, I hope you don't regret your dream."


	3. Chapter 3 - His Story Unveiled

**S**tanding in place, Clara shifts her talons nervously as an audience isn't normal for her. I, on the other hand, sit with astonishment and confusion across my face.

"Clara, is that you?" As this defies Earthly logic, nothing could be analyzed in this situation except the superstitious thought of magic. I look to Holly to verify that I'm not the only one seeing this. She just gives me a nod, approving what I'm seeing is real.

Turning to me, she says, "Yes it's me. Who else could it be?" She's starting to get frustrated. "I transformed right in front of your eyes and you still ask such a question?" Even with her beak, she perfectly articulates human speech with ease.

Even more confusion is brought upon me, "How are you able to speak? You are a Pokémon. Pokémon aren't normally able to speak except to pronounce their name."

This time, Holly speaks up, "That's when this comes in handy." She's showing me a necklace around her neck with a pendant shaped as a feather. "Human and Pokémon share identical pendants, allowing the Pokémon to understand any language you speak. On the other hand, you aren't able to understand any Pokémon speech."

Intrigue sweeps through me as I turn to Clara, who still has a frustrated look in her eyes and her body language. I look up and down Clara's body, trying to find the identical pendant Holly showed me, only to be replaced with curiosity as the pendant isn't on her. "Where's her pendant?"

Again, Holly explains. "When a Pokémon changes into their original form, the pendant is absorbed into their body. Only when they are in their humanoid form does the pendant return to the outside of the body."

"She's right, by the way. I can feel the pendant's energy coursing through my body," though still a bit frustrated, she soon begins to realize that I'm truly curious about everything going on. Even as I know the reason behind her talking, it's still kind of disturbing with a Pokémon talking nonchalantly.

Clara returns to her nervous shifting from before and says, "Miss, may I go and change into my humanoid form now?"

"Sorry, Clara, I didn't know you were uncomfortable," Holly says apologetically. "You may go now."

I watch as Clara picks up her clothing with her beak and walks away in the direction of the living room, leaving me alone with Holly till Clara returns back. Silence envelops us as we drink our tea.

_Why can't I just strike up a conversation when I'm alone with a woman? It's not like I'm uncomfortable around her, but it has never been my forte to just be sociable with another. Ugh, being an introvert definitely has its downsides, especially when it comes to being sociable with others._

Holly breaks the silence by setting down her cup. "So Nate, do you mind telling something about yourself?"

_Thank you for breaking the silence!_

I set my cup of tea down on the table as she finishes her question. "Aren't we going to wait for Clara to get back? She did want to hear my story, did she not?"

As if by coincidence, Clara walks into the dining room in her humanoid form. She looks the same as before, but this time wearing a different top and bottom than from before. There the pendant was, dangling from its chain around Clara's neck.

"Where would you like me to start?" I asked, pouring some more tea in my cup.

"Let's start off with who you are first, then we'll move on from there," Holly tells me.

* * *

**_W_**_hat's with all this commotion? It sounds as if a man is pleading for his life next door._

I get up from my deep slumber and start stretching my small body. My pointed ears twitch to detect for any further noise as it becomes silent.

_Why's it silent? Did the man die or something?_

Suddenly the door opens and a large bird enters, closing the door immediately. A white light engulfs its body, and from it emerges a humanoid Pidgeotto, completely unclothed.

Unfazed with the whole situation, "Pika-pika pi-pika chu?" _Clara, what's going on?_

She reaches for a necklace hanging from the wall with a feather pendant attached to it and puts it around her neck. "Apparently a young man has suddenly appeared in the house and Holly wishes to show him some hospitality." Clara puts on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. "Of all the people she could've shown hospitality too, she chooses the one who surrenders immediately instead of standing up and defending himself."

Clara starts to open the door before turning to me, "Holly wants me to come back to her as she talks to the young man. If you want, you can come."

Curiosity overtakes me as I'm somewhat interested in this person but my fear of strangers is holding me back from going with Clara. "Pika pi-pi pika-ka chu."_Clara, you know I have a fear of strangers._

"I know you're scared, but come with me. I think they're in the dining room and you can hide behind the couch, out of sight."

"Pi~! Pi-ka pi-ka!" _Ooooh! Great idea!_

I start to follow Clara as she heads out the door and goes downstairs. My little yellow paws scurry to keep up with her. As we turn left into the living room, she points to the half circle couch, directing me to go there. I follow her directions and head to the couch while Clara goes to the dining room.

_I wonder who he is? He must be someone special._

* * *

**"O**kay, that makes things a little easy." I sigh in relief as I wasn't asked to explain how I got here right away. "My name is Nate Mendoza, sixteen years old. From where I come, I am a high school student in the public education system. I'm a little bit athletic, as I ran cross country and track, but never enjoyed competition. Currently though, I'm in the show choir where I sing and dance, but I can play piano and guitar to accompany my voice. Academically, I'm in the top ten percent in my grade and the school I go to is a high ranking high school."

Surprising Holly and I, Clara is the first to speak up. "So, you're like the top dog at school, right? You've got so much going for you: you're smart, you're athletic, and you're musically talented."

I start to laugh. "Ha! Me? Top dog?" as I point to myself. "That could never happen."

"But why? You've got so much going for you," There was confusion in her tone as to what I said.

"First of all, those three things you just listed don't a make person popular. They help, but it's not a guarantee. Secondly, my introverted behavior prevents me from being socially outgoing. Due to that, I have many acquaintances but few friends. Lastly, I don't wish to be popular. Being on the sidelines is fine for me." Finishing the last sentence with lackluster, I know all too well that I'd like to be a little more outgoing.

"So sociability defines the popularity of a person, regardless if they're smart, talented, or athletic among other things?" Holly asks, a little surprised; not because it's true, but because she caught the lack of conviction in my last sentence.

"Unfortunately, yes, it's true. If only things are done by merit instead of popularity, student government wouldn't be such a joke," apparent disgust shows as I mention my school's student government.

_God, if it wasn't a damn popularity contest, maybe the school would be a bit better._

Holly and Clara glance towards each other as they both notice the disgust in my voice but don't say anything, leaving me in relief so I don't have to explain myself.

"Now that we know a little bit about you, how does Pokémon relate to your life?" Holly asks while Clara perks up, eager to find out.

"Yeah, how _does_ Pokémon relate to your life?" Clara eager to find out as her tone of voice changed from indifference to enthusiasm.

_Okay, another easy question; I just have to take it a little slow._

"This may be a surprise, but Pokémon don't exist in the world I come from," I say a little apprehensively, trying not to insult Clara, as she's a Pidgeotto.

Astonishment lit up in their faces as they are truly amazed as to what I just said. "Pokémon don't exist in your world?" they both ask at the same time, a bit too loud to be a simple question but one of pure curiosity.

I smile inwardly as they both seem so eager to listen to my tale. "Yes, Pokémon don't exist in the real world where I come from. They exist in the virtual world through video games. The games are very popular worldwide, appealing to all age groups though its targeted range is for kids several years younger than me."

Calmed down from her recent astonishment, Holly asks, "So how do these games work exactly?"

"First of all, you start off as a ten year old kid in one of five regions depending on the game you choose: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh or Unova. I personally have only played in Kanto, Johto and Hoenn as the two other regions never appealed to me and I don't have the means to even be able to play them."

"Okay, I know of Kanto as we are currently in Johto. I have heard of Hoenn as a rumor, but never looked into it but the other two, Sinnoh and Unova, they're completely new to me," both are intrigued by the game's mention of the regions, especially Holly, who's starting to believe I may be telling the truth.

"Which town are we in?"

"New Bark Town."

_Hmm, the hero's starting point, just like the game._

"Continuing on, you, the ten-year-old, are given one starter Pokémon of three: fire, water or grass, to start your journey across the region. You travel the region, catching wild Pokémon, defeating trainers, gym leaders and the Elite Four, and bring down a criminal organization or organizations, depending on the game. As we are in Johto, the game depicted the criminal organization to be Team Rocket, if I'm not mistaken."

The moment I mentioned Team Rocket, both of them lose their previous enthusiasm to listen to my story. Holly looks down while Clara looks around nervously.

Genuine concern, with a hint of interest in my voice, "Um, are the both of you alright? Is something the matter?" Still no response as they continue with their previous activities.

_Something's definitely not right here. In the games and anime, Team Rocket was depicted as organized criminals who stole Pokémon and exploited them for their own purposes. There must be more to them than what I was originally told of. Clara and Holly do not wish to speak to me about this as they got uncomfortable when I mentioned the name._

Trying to lighten the mood, I say, "Uh, how about we go to the most important part of my tale, how I ended up here." As upon hearing that, both Clara and Holly leave their nervousness behind, returning to the eager interest they previously showed when listening to my story.

"I'm just going to start from where the action begins." They both nod, too interested to say anything. "I was returning home from a fairly typical day at school and I notice a small package on the front porch. It had my name on it with no name of who sent it. Of course, I didn't open it right away, knowing all too well that when a mysterious package arrives, more than likely, that person's life will change drastically. Well, I didn't open the package till hours later after doing my homework and when I opened it, a ring was inside." I show them the ring on my finger, noticing that the ring has changed slightly, it is more vibrant, no longer the dull color before.

"It's a pretty ring," Clara says, entranced by the ring.

I go back to telling my story, "So after opening the package and taking out the ring, I look it over and notice on the inner band there is a phrase. It says 'Your dreams will come true'. Naturally, I didn't believe any of it, but still, I put the ring on before heading to bed. I do faintly remember dreaming of the Pokémon world, but never expected it to be real. When I woke up, I was in the room you found me in. Well, that's my story. I know it's a little much to believe, especially the traveling to a different world, but that's the truth."

After I end my story, there's a small silence at the table. Holly is the first to break it. "I've heard many a strange tale in my life, but yours tops them all. Even as bizarre as yours sounds, I'm strangely inclined to believe in it. The way you act and talk shows that you may not actually be from this world, or you're a really good liar, but I want to believe in the former as you seem to be a nice guy."

"Thank you," I say, pleased with her compliment. "Oh, I forgot. There's one more thing I need to mention." Both look at me in interest. "In the games, Pokémon only have one form, their original form. So when you transformed," I look at Clara, "I was really surprised, since that is only in stories written by unpublished authors."

"Well, that's kind of self-explanatory, due to the way you reacted to my transformation and how you didn't even recognize me as a Pokémon when I initially met you in my humanoid form." Clara turns around to the kitchen and notices the time. "Oh my, look at the time. We've been talking for ninety minutes and it's already ten PM."

"Since it's getting late, and I'm pretty sure you have nowhere to go, would you like to stay the night?" Holly asks me, grabbing the tea set and putting it in the kitchen to be cleaned later.

"I really appreciate the offer, and I hope I'm not imposing too much by accepting said offer."

"It's totally fine, and would the bedroom you appeared in suffice? It's currently the only room not being used right now."

"That's more than enough, thank you so much for your hospitality." I look down and notice that my clothes are my day use clothing: jeans and a green Hawaiian shirt. "I hope I'm not asking too much, but do you have a spare set of sleeping clothes?"

"Ah, yes we do." Turning to Clara, she said, "Clara do you mind grabbing some sleeping clothes and some day clothing for Nate tomorrow? Just set them in his room. We'll be up in a little bit."

Clara leaves the table and heads upstairs, leaving me and Holly alone again. This time though, I'm not feeling uncomfortable one bit as she basically knows who I am.

_Today has been one crazy day. I'm pretty exhausted and need some sleep._

"Holly, today has been pretty exhausting for me, so I'm going to head to my room now, if you don't mind." I struggle to keep my eyelids open else I will fall sleep sitting in this chair.

"Ah, I was about to head up too. I'll go with you."

We walk through the living room to the staircase and head upstairs in peaceful silence.

"There's one more thing I need to ask," Holly stated.

"What is it?"

"What would you like for breakfast?"

Multiple thoughts hit me about breakfast: eggs, waffles, French toast. "I'll just have whatever you're making. You're already treating me to more than enough for someone you just met several hours ago."

We enter the hallway upstairs and my room is the second door on the right. We pause outside the door before I start to open it.

"Good night and thank you very much for everything." Genuine sincerity is in my voice as this is probably the kindest thing someone has ever done for me on such short notice.

"You're welcome and good night, Nate. Sleep well," she says as she closes the door behind me.

I see the clothes lying on the bed. _Gym shorts and a plain white T-shirt: just my style_. I undress from my current clothes, folding them neatly before setting them at the foot of the bed and changing into the sleeping clothes given to me. Fatigue sets in and I turn off the light and jump into bed, passing out immediately as my head hits the pillow.

* * *

**C**lara enters the living room, passing the couch. She motions her hand towards me as if to say "follow me." I oblige and start to follow her upstairs.

"Pi-pika pi ka-chu?" _What do you think of him?_

"He seems like an interesting guy and from what I can tell. He wasn't lying at any point in his story. Also, if Holly is fine with him, I'm fine with him. What do you think of him, Layla?"

"Pi-ka... chu." _He seems... lonely._

We enter a room on the left and grab some sleeping and day clothes to put in his room. They look like the proper size, so we enter his room and drop it off on the bed. Clara starts to walk out, but notices that I'm not following behind her.

"Aren't you coming?" Clara asks curiously as I am not leaving with her.

"Chu. Pi pi-ka pi kachu." _No. I think I'll stay the night in here._

A devious look is in Clara's eyes, but she leaves without saying a word. I, on the other hand, stay under the bed, waiting for Nate to come.

Two minutes pass, and Nate enters the room after saying good night to Holly. He starts to undress his clothing, leaving only his boxers on. I get a good look at his body, trying to stay as concealed as possible.

_Well, he's definitely not a body builder. He's got some muscle definition but that's about it. Also, his abs are flat, and I can't see any definition._

I watch as he puts on the clothes we gave him and he jumps into the bed, turning off the light in the process.

I wait a couple minutes till I hear a rhythmic breathing knowing that he has fallen asleep. I crawl out from under the bed and start to hop onto the mattress. I approach his sleeping body and get atop of his chest. Tired from paying attentive throughout his whole story, sleep overcomes me as I curl into a ball.

_He's so warm..._


	4. Chapter 4 - The Journey Begins

**I** awake from my deep sleep, exhausted from yesterday, but life changing ordeal. Lying still upon the bed and eyes still closed, I feel something weighing down on my chest. Slowly opening my eyes, I notice something yellow and curled up sleeping on me.

_What's this? It's surprise after surprise. I better not startle it in case it proves to be hostile._

Its back is faced towards me, showing two brown streaks. Looking down the body, I see a yellow, jagged tail protruding a little bit since the rest of its tail is curled into the body. I turn to the other side of the body and see a pointed yellow ear with a black tip.

_I'm pretty sure I know what this is, but I'm not going to hold my breath on it._

I start to scratch the little creature behind its ear, waking it in the process. The yellow animal turns its head towards me; I notice it has a red pouch on each cheek.

_I was right. It is a Pikachu._

I take a look in its eyes and I see them quivering, even its body is shaking a little bit.

Noticing its scared action, I say in the most soothing voice I could muster, "Good morning, little one." I make sure to grin to prove I don't have any ill intent. "Did you sleep well?"

"P-pi~~~" it says in a quivering voice. Its body is still trembling just as much as when I woke it up.

It_'s without a doubt terrified of me. It probably thinks I'm mad at it since it slept on me all night._

"Don't be scared; I'm not mad at you or anything for sleeping on me, just a bit surprised." I again keep my voice as soothing as possible to calm its nerves. It slowly stops quivering as I begin to scratch behind its ear again.

"Chu~" it says, very pleased with the way I'm scratching it. Its previous fear of me is apparently gone.

My stomach rumbles as I'm scratching the Pikachu. "Um, Pikachu, do you mind getting off me please? I'm kind of hungry, as you can tell."

It acknowledges with a "Pi-ka," and gets off me, stretching its small body while I get out of bed and do the same. I hear a small grumble from the Pikachu whilst covering its eyes with its paws out of embarrassment.

"Come here," I say as I pick it off the bed and put it on my shoulder. "I'm going to eat breakfast, so come with me, okay?"

All I get is a nod of the head, prompting me to exit the room and walk into the hallway. I take a look at the photo with the Pikachu is embraced in the young boy's arms before going to the stairs.

_I wonder if this is the same Pikachu in the photo._

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Nate, what's yours?"

_What's up with me this morning? All it's going to respond with is variations of its name._

"Pika-pi," it shyly says as its stomach grumbles again.

_Ok, I'll find out later_.

* * *

_Hmm, what should I make for breakfast? Pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, Kanto toast...I think I'll make some banana pancakes. Clara, Layla and I love them and I'm sure Nate wouldn't mind some pancakes either._

I start grabbing the ingredients necessary for making banana pancakes: two bananas, pancake mix, butter, water, a flat pan, and a spatula. Mashing the two bananas until they're the consistency of clumpy mashed potatoes, I measure out the necessary amounts of pancake mix and water, mixing them together in a separate bowl before adding the mashed bananas in.

"G'morning, Miss. How did you sleep?" Clara asks, yawning as she enters the kitchen. She's in her humanoid form, her red hair all over the place.

"Morning, Clara. I slept well, considering yesterday's crazy ordeal," I put the pancake mix on the hot pan, "I'm making banana pancakes. You want some?"

She looks up to me as she's setting the table for breakfast, a condescending look in her face. "Have I ever refused when you offer banana pancakes?" I think for second, but shake my head. "Two pancakes please." A large grin on her face appears as she sits down.

"Okay, just give it a couple of minutes," I flip the pancakes over so as to get the other side cooked. I walk away from the stove, putting it on low and grabbing four plates. Clara already set the table with forks, cups, and napkins. I put the plates down on each placemat. I return back to the stove and wait a couple more minutes for the pancakes to finish cooking.

"Good morning, Holly. Clara. How are you?" Nate asks, entering the dining room and grabbing a chair to sit down in his seat from the previous night.

"Good, good. How did you sle-" I nearly drop the spatula from my hand as I see Layla comfortably sitting on his shoulder.

_Has Hell frozen over? Layla has never gotten close to anyone since her mother left with Drew on his quest to become a Pokémon trainer. And why does Clara have this devious look in her eyes as if she knows what's going on? Wait, does she know what's going on?_

"Um, why are you two looking at me as if I've committed some sort of heinous crime?" Nate asks, perplexed, as he looks at the both of us.

Clara looks at me and says, "Miss, I think the pancakes are done now."

"All right, thanks." I turn off the flame on the stove and grab the pan with the pancakes, walking over to the dining room and putting two small pancakes on every plate, only pausing at Nate's. "Sorry, I didn't ask, but do you want banana pancakes?"

"That sounds great! Thank you." Layla jumps off his shoulder as he says that, walking over to her side of the table and smelling the pancakes on her plate.

"Pi~!" she excitedly screams before digging into the pancakes with her paws.

I walk around to my seat and sit down. "Um, Nate, how did you get Layla to be comfortable around you?"

"So Layla, how'd you sleep last night?" Clara deviously asks Layla while she is slightly choking on her pancake before it becomes dislodged from her throat after a coughing fit.

"So that's its name. I'm assuming it's a female then?" Nate asks before getting another bite of pancake.

I simply nod as I want him to continue on with his explanation.

He swallows the pancake and takes a drink of orange juice. "So when I woke up this morning, I noticed Layla curled up in a ball, sleeping soundly on top of my chest. I woke her up by scratching behind her ear, but from what I can tell by your reaction, she isn't comfortable around strangers as her body was quivering when she noticed that I saw her on me. In a soothing voice, I talked to her, calming down her nerves and well, here we are."

"So Layla, did you do anything else besides sleep with him?" Clara devilishly asks Layla.

"Pi-pi!" Layla cries out in a desperate voice.

"Uh-huh. Sure you didn't," Clara retorts sarcastically.

_While those two go at it for a little bit more, I'll try and get some info off of Nate and see what he's going to do here. _I think.

"Nate?" I ask. He looks up, practically done with his pancakes, and ignores those two while they argue.

"Yeah, Holly. What's up?" he gets up and puts his dishes in the sink before returning back to his chair.

"Do you have any plans while you're here?"

He ponders my question for a bit. "I do want to find out how I arrived here in the first place, and this ring tells me absolutely nothing. If I do that, I'll have to leave this fantastic home of yours and go on a journey, most likely involving me becoming a trainer." Both Clara and Layla stop bickering after they heard him say 'trainer'.

"A trainer? As in a Pokémon trainer?" both Clara and I ask him quizzically.

"Yes, that's it. Is there something the matter with it?"

Both Clara and I look at each other before I explain. "The profession of a Pokémon trainer is quite possibly the most rewarding but most dangerous profession legally available to anyone."

"I understand, but why is so dangerous?"

I continue to explain. "It's dangerous because wild Pokémon will attack you if they so choose. Many people have died from wild Pokémon attacks, especially beginning trainers as they go upon their journey. Over the years, fewer and fewer people are willing to become trainers but as it is a very rewarding experience; there will always be someone who wants to become one, regardless of what people say." I say the last phrase a bit sadly.

_Oh crap, I let something slip about Drew. Hopefully he doesn't pick it up._

I quickly start to speak up so he doesn't ask why my voice felt sad. "Continuing on, the world you described is crazy. No parent in their right mind would let their ten year old son or daughter become a trainer. Even most kids don't want to be a trainer, as they're aware of the dangers it poses. If you so do wish to become a trainer, I'll help you, but please think it over. It's not like the children's game in your world."

* * *

_This isn't like the games predicted where people don't die. This is the real world now and I'm in a world full of danger, but I need to know how I got here and maybe even a way to go back home. I can't say no to this. It has been my childhood fantasy to go on to become a Pokémon trainer and now that the opportunity presents itself, I won't decline this once-in-a-lifetime chance._

"Holly, I'll go and become a trainer. I need to find out why I'm here, and if there is way for me to go back home," I tell her with confidence in my voice.

She nods, satisfied with my answer. "I understand your reason to go, and it's a valid reason. Not like I was going to deny you your choice to become a trainer, but it's better to have a clear-cut reason why you wish to go. And yes, I'll help you become a trainer." She grabs Clara's and Layla's plates and puts them away in the sink.

Relief spread through me as I now know that she'll help me become a trainer. "Thank you so much, for everything. Is there any way I can repay you for all you've done for me?"

"Just don't die and if you find a way back home, send me a letter before you leave this world," she tells me with a grin on my face. "One more thing, do you mind waiting while I grab the equipment needed for you to become a trainer?"

"Sure thing, but may I use your shower before I go? I kind of want to get cleaned up before I set off."

"Go for it. The shower is the first door on the right when you head upstairs. Towels are in the cupboard above the toilet. You'll find everything you need to clean yourself already in the shower." She responds like policewomen giving directions. "Since you'll be taking a shower, just come on downstairs when you're done. I should have everything prepared for you."

"Okay, got it," I leave the dining room and head upstairs towards my room first. I grab the clothing that they lent me for day use: a black shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. I then notice a pair of new boxer briefs underneath the clothing.

_They even went out of their way to get me a new pair of boxers, unless they had a new pair somewhere in the house. But still, they're really nice for lending this to me._

I leave me room, carrying the clothes and enter the bathroom. I look for the toilet and above it on shelves are towels. I grab the closest one and start to undress what I'm wearing. I open the door to the shower and set the water to warm, putting myself in the spray of warmth and cleansing my body.

_This is quite possibly the greatest day I've ever had._

* * *

I hear the shower turn on while I look for trainer gear Drew sends back home every now and then.

_I know it's somewhere in this garage, but where is it? Why is it that every time you want something, it's not there, but when you don't need it, it's there?_

I scavenge through the garage, looking at the labels of the multiple boxes till I find one in the corner labeled 'Drew's Pokémon Stuff'. I open up the box and inside is a large, grey backpack with many compartments for items. I take it out and feel it has some weight to it.

_Hmm, I wonder what's in here._

I open up the top zipper of the backpack and peer inside. I see some Pokéballs, a couple of potions, some sort of electronic device, a solar-powered phone, and two necklaces with pendants in the shape of a lightning bolt. I pick up the bag and after looking through the box to make sure nothing was left inside, I open the door to the kitchen and set the backpack on the dining room table.

Both Clara and Layla look up to me as if to ask a question. "Miss, Layla and I were talking and she has something she wants to ask you," Clara says with some urgency in her voice.

"Layla, what's up?" I concernedly ask her.

"Pi, pika pi chu ka-chu pika pi ka chu," she tells me as I look to Clara for a translation.

"She says that she wants to go with Nate on his journey to become a trainer."

I'm shocked at what I just heard. The antisocial Layla wants to leave home and go on a journey from which she might never come back from. "Layla, are you sure? It's your choice if you want to go, but you know it's a dangerous world out there, right?"

"Pi pika. Chu, pi~ pi-ka pika chu." I again look at Clara for a translation.

"She says she knows it's dangerous, but if possible, she wants to see her mother again," Clara says as she pulls closer towards my ear. "And I think Layla may have taken an interest in Nate."

"Okay Layla, I understand but remember, it's not my journey. You need to ask Nate about this."

"Pi~."

* * *

**I** get out of the shower and dry myself off with a towel. I dress into the clothing they gave me and head out of the bathroom and go back to the bedroom. I grab my shoes and the clothing I arrived here in and head downstairs where Holly, Clara, and Layla are waiting at the dining room table with a backpack on the table.

Holly turns to me as I enter the dining room. "Nate, Layla would like to ask you something."

I turn to Layla as she starts to speak to me in her language. I turn to Clara who translates the whole thing.

"Basically, she wants to go with you on your journey and wants to know if you'll take her."

I look to Holly who only says, "It's her choice. All you have to do is give her an answer."

I now approach Layla, who's sitting at the other side of the table. "Layla, you do realize it's a dangerous world out there, and I don't even know what I'm getting myself into. We could be attacked, caught in nature's wrath, or even die on this journey."

She nods her head, acknowledging that she knows the dangers of the trip.

"Well then, I'll be honored to have you come with me." She jumps up and down, ecstatic at the news. "Now I won't be alone this trip."

"Let me go grab Layla's Pokéball from my room," she says, leaving the table. Before leaving the dining room, she says, "The bag on the table is yours. Check the stuff inside." She then goes upstairs to her room.

I look at the bag and open it, pulling out the items inside. Two potions, five Pokéballs, a solar powered cell phone, and an electronic device about the size of an iPhone, but with a sliding keyboard are inside. I turn on the device and it reads on the screen 'Pokémon Trainer Registration'. It then asks for my name and date of birth among other things which I fill out. When I finish, the registration it says 'Please turn in at the nearest PokéCenter to receive your official registration card.'

About the same time, Holly returns with a Pokéball, which I assume is Layla's. She hands it over to me before explaining to me how to use a Pokéball. "With a Pokéball, you must register your DNA into the Pokéball so that the caught Pokémon is registered to you." She shows me the bottom of the ball, telling me to put my thumb there. "It's going to sting a bit but it's going to extract some blood from you, registering Layla as your Pokémon now."

I feel a small needle pierce my skin, but the pain doesn't last too long. She again shows the Pokéball to me. "See this number here? This number defines how much freedom you give to your Pokémon." She shows a digital number by the needle that extracted blood from me. On it is a number five. "You can adjust this number by rolling this slider up and down. The lower the number, the more freedom it has while as the number gets higher, the less freedom's on the Pokémon. But be warned, the higher the number, the more stress it puts on your body." Before giving me the ball, she says, "To open up a Pokéball, press these two switches on the side."

I absorb all this information, ready to take on this new world. "Okay, I understand. Thank you so much for telling me this."I start putting the items back in the bag. "Oh, can I have your phone number?" I ask her, offering the phone.

"I already inputted my name and number in there, and in the fridge, you'll find some prepackaged sandwiches and water bottles for you and Layla to share."

I walk over to the fridge and pull out the sandwiches and water bottles, putting them in the bag. "Layla, I don't want to rush you, but I think it's best if we say our goodbyes now. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to leave."

"Chu," she sadly says, but knows we must be going on soon. She goes to Clara and she picks her up, hugging her tightly.

"You kick ass, okay? If anyone is messing with you and Nate, make sure to show them their place."

I walk over to Holly and offer my hand. She grabs it. "Please take care of Layla. We're going to miss her, but this is her choice, and we must accept it."

"Don't worry. I will take care of her. Again, thank you for all you've done. You've been really kind to a stranger who you just met twelve hours ago who happens to be from a different world." All four of us walk to the front door as Clara gives Layla to me, who then crawls onto my shoulder.

"It's the least I can do; be safe out there. It's a dangerous world." She starts to pet Layla as she opens the door for us, allowing us to start on the journey.

I take a step outside, breathing in the fresh air. "Before you go, here's one more thing." She pulls out of her pocket an envelope and hands it over to me. "It's not much, but it'll help you along the way."

I open the envelope and inside are paper bills. "I can't accept this. You've given me too much already." I try to hand back the envelope, but she shakes her head.

"Take it. You'll need it on your journey." She pushes the envelope back at me and I pocket it.

"I guess we'll be going now. Thank you so much for everything," I sincerely tell Holly and Clara.

"Pika pi," Layla says, trying to hold in a tear.

"Goodbye, and don't forget to call every now and then," Both Clara and Holly say as I turn and walk away.

"Don't forget to kick ass!" Clara yells at us. I chuckle but raise my arm to acknowledge her statement.

"Well Layla, you ready?" I ask her, already knowing the answer.

"Chu!" she says excitedly.

"I'm assuming that means 'yes'. Well then, let's go," I say as we walk forwards towards Cherrygrove City.


	5. Chapter 5 - Eternal Sleep

**"L**ucy! Go wake up your brother! It's already one o'clock!" my mom yells from her room.

"Ugh, fine," I grumble, walking out of my room and entering his. I step over my dog, who just loves to lie down in the hallway as if it's nobody's business.

"Yo, Nate, get out of bed. It's one o'clock and mom wants you up now," I tell him as I open the window shades in his room to allow sunlight to come in.

No reply from him.

"Nate?" I start to shake his body a little while calling his name. "Nate, wake up. This better not be a joke." My voice starts to tremble, fearing the worst. I run to my parent's room, leaving Nate's body where it is. "Mom! Dad! Nate's not responding. He's not waking up," my voices trembles as I try to hold back the tears.

Both of my parents are alarmed as they jump out of bed. I show them to Nate's room as his body is still lying there, unchanged from when I left him.

My dad goes up to Nate's body. "Nate, wake up," he says while he checks for a pulse and if he's breathing. He regains some relief knowing that his son's not dead. "He's breathing and has a pulse." I gratefully sigh, knowing my brother is at least living.

My mom bursts into tears, sobbing into Nate's body. "Why won't he wake up then?"

"Lucy, you stay here with your mother while I go call 9-1-1 and tell them the situation." My dad then leaves the room, calling 9-1-1 on his cell phone.

I look over to Nate's body while my mother is sobbing on him. I then see you ring on his right hand, which is hanging off the bed. The ring is faintly emitting a blue light, but I can see no reason as to why that is happening.

_Hmm, curious. Nate's never been a fan of jewelry, but he's wearing a ring right now. And why is it glowing? Normal metals don't emit light._

I pick up Nate's hand and reach for the ring, but I'm stopped by an invisible barrier two inches from the ring.

_What's this? Is this ring emitting a force field, preventing me from touching it? But force fields are science fiction; this is like when you try pushing the same poles of two magnets together, only to be repelled by the magnetic force._

"Hey, mom. Look at this," I tell her. She doesn't hear me. I put my hands on her shoulders and shake her a little. "Mom, look at this."

She turns her head around, eyes red from crying and says, "Can't you see that I'm crying right now?"

I ignore her question and show her Nate's hand. "See anything different?"

She looks at his hand for a second, "He's wearing a ring. What's so different about that?"

"Yeah, he's wearing a ring. When has Nate ever said that he liked wearing jewelry?"

She stops crying to think about that. "Never, I suppose. He rarely ever wears jewelry and when he does, he never likes it."

"Right? Why is he wearing a ring then?" I ask. "And take a closer look at this here ring; it's emitting a faint, blue light. No normal metal emits light, but this one is."

"The paramedics are on their way," my dad says upon entering the room. He sees me and his wife looking the ring on Nate's finger. "Why's that ring glowing?"

"We don't know, but one thing's for sure: it's not a normal ring," I tell him as he comes closer. "Also, check this out. When I try to pull the ring off, I'm stopped by an invisible barrier approximately two inches from the ring itself."

The sound of the doorbell brings us back to reality. "I'll get the door. It's probably the medics," my dad says, leaving the room again.

Sure enough, I look out the window of Nate's room and there are emergency vehicles on the street.

I hear the sound of the door opening downstairs, prompting my mom and me to clear the floor of Nate's schoolwork so that the medics can take a look at his body without having the disturbance of stepping over things.

The sound of heavy boots enters the room, which was somewhat cleaned since we moved some stuff out of the way. There were three medics, each about six feet tall and two hundred pounds. One medic brings in a stretcher while the other two look over Nate's sleeping body.

One of the medics speaks up, "When did you find him like this?"

"I found him like this around one o'clock," I say to him as he writes this down on his notepad.

He looks at his watch, "So about thirty minutes have passed then." He now turns to my parents. "Has he been showing any abnormal signs recently? Has he been diagnosed with insomnia or any other disorders?"

My dad speaks up, "No, he hasn't been showing form of abnormality at all. He hasn't been diagnosed with anything either, especially insomnia since he doesn't get lack of sleep."

"Hmm, interesting..." He turns to the other medics. "Let's put him on a stretcher and take him to the nearest children's hospital." He writes something on his notepad and rips it off, giving it to my dad. "Here's the address to the hospital."

"Thanks, we'll follow right after you leave," he says as he puts the note in his pocket.

The two medics carry Nate's body out of the room and head downstairs, carefully moving the stretcher so the body moves as little as possible. They open the front door and carry Nate's body over to the ambulance, opening the back door to let him inside.

We follow suit and get inside my dad's Mini Cooper to follow the ambulance back to the hospital.

"I hope Nate turns out to be okay," I say somberly.

"We hope so too, Lucy. We hope so too…" my mom says in the same tone as me.

* * *

We enter the emergency room of the hospital, but are told to wait as the doctors analyze Nate's condition.

"It's always like this at the hospital," my dad says as he fills out medical papers for Nate. "We wait and wait, not knowing if the one we're waiting for is okay."

"Well, Dad, just wait a while. The doctors may come back with some good news," I say optimistically to lift the glooming feeling in the air. It doesn't work.

"I hope that's the case, Lucy," my mom says while staring blankly in her seat.

* * *

**"D**r. Cooper, take a look at this," they say as my fellow doctor moves over to allow me to look in the microscope, analyzing Nate Mendoza's blood. "When I looked at the blood under the microscope, I was expecting to see some dead blood cells, since oxygen was no longer being supported to them, but all of them were alive and thriving."

I look into the microscope and understand what he means. "Did you check other blood samples to make sure this wasn't an exception?"

"Yes, I did. I checked multiple ones and all of them have showed the same results. I even checked samples of his skin. No dead ones among them."

"Record what you've just seen. This is important," I tell him as he gets to work.

The door to the lab opens, and a young female nurse enters. "Dr. Cooper, I have the CT Scans of Nate Mendoza's brain," she says as she hands over the folder with X-rays and notes from various doctors who've previously looked at it.

I turn to the nurse and ask, "So what's wrong with him?"

"It appears that he's in a coma as his brain activity is very low." She says, her professional tone never wavering, as she has become accustomed to people who are terminally injured.

"The reason why he's in a coma?"

"You'll find that in the folder, but I'll give you a brief rundown," she pauses before continuing up again. "It's unknown."

This perks my interest, since this has only occurred once in my many years of being a doctor. "What? Please elaborate."

"All organs are functioning as they are meant to be. There is no brain damage. No disease of any kind. There's no reason for him to be in a coma, but he's in one. The other doctors are trying to figure it out, but they don't know how to proceed. Since you're the chief doctor of this hospital, do you have any idea of how to address this problem?"

"Hmm, let me think about this..." I ponder for a couple of seconds until an idea pops up. "May I see his body?"

"Certainly, Dr. Cooper. Follow me while I show you to his room." She turns around to the door while I follow her.

We walk through hospital's white hallways with many hallways leading to different departments relating to the medical field. We enter one hallway and his room is the first on the left.

"Here you go, Dr. Cooper."

"Thank you." I enter the room, closing the door behind me. Nobody is in the room as I look around. That's when I noticed Nate's body lying on the hospital bed, just lying there as if he were peacefully dreaming.

I look over his body for anything that may prompt interest in me. As I look to his right hand, I see a faintly glowing ring emitting a blue light. I try to pull the ring off of his finger, but am halted by an invisible barrier preventing me from touching it.

_This is just like the other time. I had a patient just like this. He was in a coma for no apparent reason and was wearing a ring similar to Nate's that couldn't be taken off. I called it "Eternal Sleep," since the body never ages, never needs food. The body is just there, breathing, but practically dead in every other sense._

Thoughts go through me as I question if I should tell his family. "I should tell them; they have a right to know."

I leave Nate's room and walk down the hallway to the nearest receptionist. I proceed to ask her a question. "Where is Nate Mendoza's family?"

"Give me a sec while I look that up." She pulls up a list of people who're waiting for in the hospital. "They are located in the ER waiting room."

"Thank you." I walk quickly in the direction of the waiting room to tell the Mendoza family the news of their son.

_They have to know before it's too late. It was too late for my last patient because the government took him away, but at least Nate's family will know what will happen to their son._

I come before the ER waiting room to catch my breath, since I walked quickly through half of the hospital. After catching my breath, I open the door to find the waiting room fairly empty. There are a couple of individuals in the chairs and a one small family.

"May I see Nate Mendoza's family please," I announce, prompting a family to get up and come towards me.

A middle-aged woman, who I assume to be the mother asks, "Is Nate okay?"

I take a heavy breath, knowing what I'll say is traumatic. "Can you all follow me to another room? This needs to be addressed with you privately."

"Sure thing, doctor, but can you at least tell us if he's going to be well?" a middle-aged man asks, who I assume to be is the father.

"He's... not going to be well," we walk down a hallway and I show them to a room, "but I'd rather explain what's going on with him in this room."

We enter a room that has the feel of a psychiatrist's office, though this isn't the psychiatrics' ward. The Mendoza family takes a seat on the couch with the mother and father sitting side by side and the daughter on her mother's side. I take a seat in a reclining chair, facing directly at them.

"Doctor, can you please tell us what's wrong with my son?" the man anxiously asks.

I sigh, "I'll get straight to it then." I pause to compose myself to appear somber at his situation. "You're son appears to be in a coma."

The family in front of me is shocked by this news. Unable for them to ask why, I continue on. "He has no physical ailments that cause a coma, nor any brain damage. In all reality, he shouldn't even be in a coma in the first place."

The man breaks from his shock and asks, "Then why is he in a coma, doctor?"

"We're not sure, but there's more to his situation than a mere coma. When we were studying his blood samples, a fellow coworker of mine found out his blood cells weren't dying, same with his skin cells. I then went to go see your son and noticed a ring on his finger that was glowing blue."

The daughter now speaks. "Shouldn't that ring have anything to do with Nate's problem? It's just a ring, after all."

"Normally, that'd be the case, but I had a similar patient who entered a coma for no apparent reason and was wearing a ring similar to Nate's. Both rings glowed faintly and both had an invisible barrier, preventing me from taking it off." They're perplexed as their son and brother isn't the first case with this situation. "With him in the same situation as my previous patient, his body won't age as time progresses."

"What do you mean by that?" the father asks, confused as to why his son won't age.

"I said earlier that his cells aren't dying, nor are they reproducing. His body will be the same as it is as time goes on. I call it "Eternal Sleep," since the person doesn't age, nor does he need sustenance to support the body."

"So you're basically saying that as we get older, Nate will always be his sixteen year old self for all eternity?" they all ask simultaneously.

"Yes, but there's one more thing: with my previous patient, the government took his body from the hospital and it has never been seen again. If possible, I'd like for you to spend as much time with Nate until the government does take his body. There's nothing I can do to stop them, so please spend time with him. The previous family didn't know this, and now they're living their lives without saying their final goodbyes to their son."

Tears start streaming down the mother's face as I finish up what I'm saying. The father gets up and offers his hand. "Thank you, doctor, for telling us this. We can't accept what the government will do, but at least you told us beforehand. It's much appreciated and I think it's best if we go see our son now."

The Mendoza family gets up and leaves for Nate's room, which location they were told in advance. They go to say their final words to him before the government comes to study the body.

I quietly sit in the room, remembering how my son was in the same position as Nate. In a coma for no reason. A ring glowing on his hand. Me not saying goodbye to him. I put my hands over my face and sob. "Andrew, if only I knew, I would of said bye..."

Sure enough, the government came and took Nate's body away two days later.


	6. Chapter 6 - Under the Willow

**W**_ow, this town is so much bigger than depicted in the game. This town has at least twenty houses, and that'll put the approximate population of at least one hundred people. There's even a basic food mart if someone gets tired of cooking every day. Hmm, I should really ask someone for directions. I've got no clue how to get to Cherrygrove City._

I see a lone man in his forties sitting on a bench reading the paper. "Excuse me sir. May I ask you a question?" He looks in my direction, taking notice of a teenager walking to him.

"What is it that you'd like to ask?" he kindly replies, not in the least bit upset I interrupted his reading.

"How would I get to Cherrygrove City? I'm new here, and I don't know my way around." He sees that Layla is trying to hide her face behind me and knows immediately why I'm asking.

"You'd take this here road, Route 29, all the way to Cherrygrove City." He points his finger directly behind me, showing where Route 29 is located. "It's about a half a day of brisk walking to get to the city, or a day at a casual walking pace."

I look up to the sky and see that the sun is at high noon. "Thank you, sir. I better get going now if I want to make it to town before nightfall." I start going in the direction he pointed while the man goes back to reading the paper.

I scratch Layla behind her pointed ears as she gives a pleased sound. "Well, Layla, this is it. We're on a journey of a lifetime."

"Pi~" she says, pleased, as I'm still scratching her behind the ear.

We walk onto Route 29, leaving the confines of human settlement behind us and the territory of wild pokémon lies in front of us. A dirt path paves the way as the route went over hills and fields of short grasses with the occasional tree off to the side of the beaten path.

With Layla on my shoulder, we walk forward, staying alert for anything that may pose a threat to us. There's nothing around us as far as the eye can see and as this pattern continues for hours of casual walking, we ease up little by little till the point where we're talking casually.

"Layla, I'm going to need to take a break soon. My shoulders are killing me from this backpack." She jumps off my shoulder, relieving some of the weight, and starts walking on all fours by my side.

"Chu~?" she guiltily looks up to me, thinking she's the main reason for my shoulder pain.

"Don't worry; it's not your fault," I look down to her, smiling. "This backpack is heavy with all our travel equipment in it."

We continue to walk, and as we are coming to the top of a small hill, we see a young willow tree off the side of the road. "Hey Layla, let's go rest at that tree right there." I point to the willow at the base of the hill. "We should get something to drink and I need to relieve my back of this weight," I say as I rub my shoulder.

_If only this willow was on the near a lake at sunset would this be a picture-perfect moment. But I guess encountering a willow while experiencing my childhood fantasy is just as good, maybe even better._

As Layla and I get under the drooping branches of the willow, I remove the backpack and set it at the base of the trunk. I sit down right by the bag, relieved that I can rest for a short while. Layla lies down on the grass next to me, her tail moving side to side.

"Ah, that feels so much better." I open the backpack and look inside for a sandwich and a bottle of water. While I'm searching inside the bag, something catches my eye. _What's this, I wonder?_

Grabbing the object in my hand, I feel that it's angular and it has a chain coming out from one side. Opening my hand as it exits the entrance of the backpack, there is a golden-colored lightning bolt-shaped pendant attached to a chain with the same color. Realizing that this is the same type of pendant Clara and Holly wore, I dig through the backpack to find the matching pair which is located at the very bottom of the bag.

Layla glances over from her current position and sees me scavenging through my bag. "Chu~?"

"Look here, Layla!" I show her the lightning bolt pendants. "With this, I think we'll be able to talk now."

* * *

**C**_an we really be able to talk now? Yes, there are two identical pendants dangling right in front of me, but will they really work?_

Nate beams excitedly at me, removing the pessimistic thoughts in my head.

"You wanna give it a go?" he asks, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. He looks really excited as opposed to his normal, casual demeanor.

_He must really want to try this, and why not? What have we got to lose?_

"Pika pi!" I say energetically, so he knows that I want to try this.

He smiles happily. "Alright, let's give this a go." He puts one necklace around him and then puts the other around me. The pendant reaches down to my abdomen, the cold metal touching my skin. After putting the necklace around my neck, he says, "So can you talk now?" He looks at me inquisitively, wanting to know if it works or not.

I muster up the courage to say his name, hoping it will work. "Pika?" Just realizing that it didn't work, I drop my head depressingly, knowing it didn't work.

_I guess I had my hopes up too high. I knew it had to be a fake pendant._

Nate puts his hand under his chin in a thinking position. He's muttering to himself, too low for my ears to pick up what he's saying.

He returns his gaze to my sulking figure after thirty seconds of inaudible muttering. "Layla, I think I know why it doesn't work."

I cock my head to the side as he says that. "Chu?"

"Yep. I do." He takes off the necklace around my neck, placing it in front of my feet. I look up at him, unsure as to why he's doing this. "Here's what I think. You need to be in your humanoid form and then put this necklace on. I think that'll work, but the only way to know is to give it a try."

_My humanoid form? I have never done that before in my life. I've never had a reason to transform before._

"Pi pika pika pi chu," I anxiously try to convey that I'm nervous of turning into my humanoid form. Luckily, he picks up on my anxiety.

"Okay, I get that you're nervous of me seeing you in your humanoid form. If this helps, you can change behind this tree, and I'll be on this side, looking the other way." He stays sitting by the backpack on the side of the tree he says he'll be at. "And I won't try and peek at you. You have my word," he tells me in a definitive voice.

_Nate will keep to his word; I'm sure of it. He's been really kind, and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'll go back on his word._

"Pi~" I tell him as I pick up the necklace between my teeth and walk to the other side of the tree. As the tree trunk isn't too big, I turn around and see Nate's shoulders pointed in the opposite direction of me.

_He's keeping to his word. Okay, here it goes._

I drop the necklace from my teeth and close my eyes. I feel a swirling energy in my body as I concentrate on changing my form. The swirling energy within me expands and engulfs my entire body, creating a tingling sensation only lasting for a couple of seconds.

The first thing I notice when I open my eyes is that I'm much higher from the ground than before. Bending over, I grab the necklace and put it around my neck, my pointed ears no longer present.

Trying again, I muster up the courage to say his name. "Nate?" I say shyly, unsure if it'll work.

"Yes, Layla?" he replies casually after a bit of silence.

_It works! Nate's idea works!_

Forgetting that I didn't want Nate seeing me, with my new body I dash from behind the tree and come before Nate who's still sitting in the same position he said he would be in.

"Nate this is so great! We can finally talk now!" I say excitedly, bouncing up and down with joy. I notice that Nate isn't listening to me, instead he's staring at my body. I look down and realize that I'm completely unclothed.

"Wow..." he says as he stares at my body.

I feel my face getting hot, embarrassed that I have shown Nate my nude, humanoid body. Covering my body with my arms, I quickly hide behind the tree and sit down, pulling my knees into my body.

* * *

**"W**ow..." I say, captivated by the female figure bouncing up and down in front of me.

A mostly human figure stands before me. She is approximately five feet in height, shoulder-length hair, blonde in color but changing to black as it approaches the tips. She has a round face which complimented her large, round, black eyes. A dainty, petite nose and a wide smile beamed across her joyous face. A red pouch on each cheek the size of a quarter. Smooth skin flowing all over her body, yellow in tint, similar to that of her blonde hair. Not having the body of a ten year old girl, she has a pair of B cup breasts. A Pikachu's tail protrudes from her back end, dropping a length of about one and a half feet.

_Damn! She's got a fine body! Do all Pokémon in their humanoid forms have these fine bodies?_

She gets red in the face, covering her body with her arms and runs to the other side of the tree. I hear her plop down on the ground behind me, her breathing erratic.

I look through the bag next to me and pull out a foldable blanket. "Layla, here you go. You can cover yourself with this," I reach my hand back with blanket in hand offering it to her which she takes.

"Thanks, Nate," she says shyly. I hear her get up, putting the blanket around herself and covering her body.

Her voice shows that she's still uncomfortable, so I try to cheer her up. "Layla, if it makes you feel any better, you look really pretty." As I finish my compliment, I hear Layla walk around, the blanket covering her body as she sits cross-legged in front of me.

"Do I really look pretty?" she shyly asks, but eager to find out. Her eyes beam from my compliment.

Reaffirming my previous compliment, I say, "Yes Layla, you really are pretty." She blushes; her already red cheeks just get a tad bit redder.

_The way she acts, it's so cute!_

"Thank you, Nate," she coyly mutters under her breath. She lowers her head to prevent me from seeing her flushed face.

I grab a water bottle and open it, offering it to her. "Here, drink some. We've got a long ways to go still, unless you want to call it day and camp here for the night." I look up through the covered roof of the willow tree and see that the sun has about an hour of light left.

_It's probably best if we stay here the night. Who knows if we'll find a place as good as this?_

She looks towards the sun too. "Nate, I think we should rest here." Layla takes the bottle and drinks a third of it before giving it back to me. I then grab a prepackaged sandwich Holly gave us. I split it in half, offering one half to Layla and keeping the other half for myself. Layla takes the sandwich and we munch happily on our meal, which tastes strangely of turkey.

I look up to her as we finish our food at the same time. Content with the meal, we both let out a breath of gratitude. I rub her head, just like this morning. Layla thoroughly enjoys the treatment.

I keep rubbing her head till my arm becomes tired, my whole body following suit from today's exhausting walk. She looks up as she notices I'm no longer rubbing her. "Nate, what's wrong?"

I try to smile, but in my exhausted state, it comes out to be a lazy grin. "I'm just tired, Layla. It's been a long day," I say to her as I lie down under the willow canopy. I put my hands behind my head, entranced by the setting sun, and clear from pollution as opposed to the cities on Earth. "It's really beautiful, isn't it? The setting sun without the noise of the city, pollution in the sky, rolling fields of nature at its finest."

She doesn't reply right away. "I suppose you could call it beautiful..." she says as she looks to the setting sun, trying to see what I see.

"Just consider yourself lucky. From where I come from, this view is a luxury very few get to enjoy every single day of their lives." I continue to be entranced by the sun until it passes under the horizon, the stars slowly showing their presence in the darkening sky.

Layla lies down next to me, the blanket still covering her body. "Nate?" she says softly.

"Yes, Layla?" I say as I gaze into the night sky. Light pollution doesn't disturb the night sky, exposing the whole of the heavens under the willow canopy. The stars form in unfamiliar patterns from the ones I'm used to back on Earth.

She turns over and looks at me in which I do the same. Her eyes lack the same joyous look as before. "Do you miss your home?"

Memories pass through me of my life before this crazy incident: my loving family who I care about deeply, my friends who would surely miss me. A tear rolls down my face before I wipe it away.

"I have a loving family and great friends. I do miss my home." Memories keep flooding back to me as I feel the urge to cry. As the urge increases, I turn over so I don't show Layla my face, contorted with tears. "What if I can't find a way home? I'll be in a new world, all alone." My voice trembles at the thought of not going back home.

I feel Layla's body against mine as she pulls the blanket over me. "If that's the case then, I'll be with you, so you're not alone." She puts her arm over me, relieving me of the pain of being alone.

"Layla, thank you," I say, my voice still trembling, but slowly going back to normal. As I return back to normal, I chuckle a little.

"Nate, why are you laughing?" she asks, confused as I switched from grief to joy.

"I once had a dream that good things happen under a willow tree. I guess my dream has come true," I chuckle a bit more as sleep starts to overtake me.

"I guess you're right, Nate," she says, cuddling into me as my body warms her up. "I will never forget this night, the first night of our journey together."

"Nor will I, Layla, nor will I..." I mutter as I drift off to sleep.

* * *

**"B**oss, it seems our target is sleeping now," a man's voice says over the phone.

I have been viewing and hearing Nate's conversation over a monitor the whole time. I feel a little guilty, as I've been spying on him while he has been under the willow.

"What would you like us to do? He's vulnerable now, and we can easily subdue his companion," the same man says over the phone.

"No, don't do anything. Just come back to base," I tell the man over the phone. I hang up after I tell him that.

The live video feed is cut, leaving the monitor a blank screen in front of me. I close the laptop in front of me, and put it inside the desk drawer. I lean back in my leather chair, the moonlight shining in from the window behind me.

I turn the leather chair and observe the full moon.

_Nate's right. It really is beautiful. The moon, the stars, everything._

"Well, he'll come here eventually to find the answer to his question. I'll let him enjoy it here for the time being. He deserves a break." I pull out a sketchpad from the desk behind me and sketch an image of the moon and stars.

_It really is beautiful here._


	7. Chapter 7 - Andrew and Claris (Part I)

**A**n orange glow from the fireplace illuminates my grand library, filled with aisles upon aisles of leather bound volumes. I'm sitting in a leather chair perpendicular to the fire place, reading one of the books I wrote many years ago.

A young woman around the age of sixteen enters the library with a box in her arms. She has brown hair with auburn highlights that reaches down past her shoulder. Deep brown eyes radiate her effervescent nature while her gait gleams of her youthful spirit.

"Grandpa, a package has arrived for you," she tells me as she walks towards me, joyfully offering the box to me.

"Thank you Claris," I tell my granddaughter as she gives me the package. "Do you mind brewing some tea please. I've got some reading to do." I look at the book I'm currently reading noticing that about fifty pages are left.

"Alright but you've got to read me another story about your past okay," she tells me in her usual bubbly nature. She turns around to the large wooden door she previously entered through.

I return my attention to the package and start to cut the tape with my pocketknife. I put away the knife on the coffee table in front of me and open the box, careful that none of the pink packing peanuts jump out onto the floor. Avoiding the packing peanuts as best as possible, I take out the contents within the box and set them on the coffee table in front of me.

One of the items is a fairly large photo album. Brown velum cover, I open it up, careful not to damage the crippling cover. Inside the album there are many pictures of a young man and his Pikachu doing various activities together. Another picture catches my eye as I turn the pages. In that picture, there are two young men with their shoulders over each other as both are laughing together. I close the photo album to look at another day.

Another item is a single photo in a frame. The photo is a mother and father carrying their son as they help him blow out the candle on his first birthday cake. All three of them look happy in the photo. A small date printed in orange is shown in the lower right corner. It reads '2/13/1998'. I put the frame next to the album.

The final item is a large book, worn from constant use. A title is present on the front cover as it reads _A Hero is Born _by Nate Mendoza. A tracing of a lightning bolt in gold is under his name.

_Damn, he finally finished the story he told me about years ago. _

Opening the leather binding, I cautiously turn the aging pages of the book so not to tear it. The writing is handwritten but neatly printed for easy legibility. The book itself has many pages, weighing the book down as I carry it in my hands.

Claris opens the door as I'm flipping through the pages. "Grandpa, tea's ready."

I look up to see my granddaughter carrying a tray with a tea set above it. "Ah, thank you Claris." She sets the tea on the coffee table, not disturbing the photo album and frame. She sits in the chair opposite of me, eager to listen to the story that I'll tell her.

I look at her eager eyes, ready for me to tell my story to her. "Claris, I'm going to do something a little different today, okay." As I say that, she sulks in her chair, disappointed that I won't tell her my story.

"But grandpa," she pleads, her eyes watering a little "you always tell a story." She almost bursts into tears, her disheartened quivering of her voice is bringing me down.

"Claris, if you keep up with that sad behavior, I'm going to get sad too." She wipes away a loose tear but eyes are still a little red.

"Grandpa, you normally tell me a story" Claris sadly responds.

"And today won't be any different Claris." I show her Nate's book. "It just won't be about me this time but of my friend."

Her sorrow turns to curiosity, "Grandpa, what do you mean?" She looks at the book unsure what to think of it. "And why a book, don't you normally just speak your stories?"

"In that package you gave me, it came from a very close friend of mine. It came with this book and those two items." I point to the other items on the coffee table. "My friend had written a story depicting a certain portion of his life, a certain part that I can't speak aloud due to him not telling me the whole story." Understanding what I now just said, she regains some of her bubbly personality.

"_A Hero is Born_ by Nate Mendoza," she says as she reads the front cover. "That's the friend who you mention sometimes in your stories, right?"

Glad that she remembers the name, "Yes Claris, he's the very same person I sometimes mention."

"Ok grandpa, let's start!" her bubbly nature explodes as she's been waiting for a story.

"Alright but one more thing, we're both going in blind here. I don't know what's going to happen in this story. Anything could happen so be warned." I tell her as she nods in acknowledgement. Opening the book to the first chapter, I begin to read "Chapter One - The Ring..."

* * *

"That's enough for the night Claris." I grab a bookmark to place inside Nate's autobiography before closing it and putting it on the coffee table. The fire, a small flame now only being able to illuminate Claris and me in its orange glow instead of the whole library.

Though her eyes begging for more to be read, she notices that the dwindling fire light would make it harder for me to continue to read. "Grandpa, is Nate really from another world? That's impossible right?"

Remembering how Nate used to tell me he came from place far, far away, "That's what he used to say a long time ago, that he came from somewhere far, far away. It doesn't make sense now but I'm sure he'll elaborate further on in the story."

_Is this what Nate meant when he said he came from a far away place, that he came from another world somewhat resembling this world? _

"Okay, I hope that's the case grandpa. It's kind of hard to believe his story if this is meant to be a nonfiction, not a fictitious story." Though she's normally bubbly, she has become critical in stories as I have read many types of stories to her from the moment she started living with me ten years ago when her parents passed away in a car crash, sending her to me to be her legal guardian.

"Don't worry, he won't have forgotten such an important piece of information." The fire dwindling as we speak, the library gradually getting darker. "Claris, I think it's time that we go to bed now."

"Alright grandpa." She gets up from the chair, picking up the tea set and leaving the library.

Alone in the library, I grab the photo album and carefully turn to a random page. Even with the dwindling firelight, I can make out the photo on the page. It's a photo of me and the family that adopted me after I was left with amnesia of my past from a car accident which killed my parents, leaving me the only one alive. The photo has my parents in the back, my older sister Holly with Clara in her Pidgey form on her shoulder and I with Natalie snuggled soundly in my embrace.

Without realizing it, a tear falls from my face onto the photo and another one soon following it. I wipe away the tears from my face and the photo. I close the photo album so as to not invoke anymore emotions from me.

_It's been so lonely without you Natalie. If you hadn't insisted on going with my son the day he passed away in that horrendous car crash, you could still be here with me._

Returning the photo album back onto the coffee table, I exit my seat and leave the library. Walking up the spiraling stairwell, the second floor leads me to my room. Entering, I lie in my bed, drifting on the edge of consciousness, sleep finally overtaking me.

_Nate, I wonder what you're up to now…_


	8. Chapter 8 - It's a Brosky

_**"M**om? Dad? Where are we going?" I ask as I've just awakened from sleeping. I look out the car window, the setting sun in the distance and the landscape blurred by the speed of the car._

_My mom turns around from the seat in front of me. "Nate, how could you have forgotten? It's your tenth birthday and we're going stargazing. You've been asking for months to do this, don't you remember?"_

_"Nate, you okay?" my dad asks, not keeping his eyes off the road in front of him. Minute after minute, the sky is getting darker, allowing the night sky to take over._

_"Yeah, I'm fine." I rub my eyes to get me out of my drowsy state. "I think sleeping just affected me." My mom turns around to stare at the road ahead of her, sighing in relief._

_"Okay, that's good. Wake up your sister now, we're almost there," my dad tells me as we pull off the paved road and enter a dirt road. Though the car does have great shocks to absorb the impact of the rough road, the uneven road can still be felt inside the car._

_Even with the car vibrating, my sister still sleeps like a rock. Grabbing her shoulders and shaking her a little, I say, "Wake up Lucy, we're almost there." The uneven road is almost making me bite my tongue._

_Lucy stirs awake, but is clearly upset from being disturbed from her slumber. "Why did you wake me up? I had a dream that mom and dad finally got me a pony." She looks out the window on her side of the car, the moon rising from her side. "And it was a beautiful pony too..."_

_"Lucy, you know we can't afford a pony nor do we have any place to keep a pony," my mom tells her in the same annoyed voice when Lucy asks for the impossible._

_The car slows to stop, ending the bumpy ride. "We're finally here," my dad tells us, turning off the car engine and killing the headlights. "Put your jackets on and stretch before we set up for the night." He gets out of the car and begins to stretch his cramped muscles which we follow suit right afterwards._

_The night air is cold, but not unbearable for my young body. "Ah, this feels good, much better than being in that car," I say, stretching my body. My mom and sister are also stretching, saying similar things to what I said._

_As we're still stretching, my dad pops open the trunk of the car and starts pulling some stuff out. "Help out guys, I ain't doing all this work and Nate, since it's your birthday, where would you like to lie down and observe the stars?" my dad asks me as I go to the trunk and pull out a blanket for myself._

_I think about it for a second before answering. "Can I lie on top of the car?" I ask with a pleading face, though he doesn't see it in the darkness of the night._

_"Okay, you can go up, but make sure you don't fall off," he tells me, lifting me up and putting me atop the car. I lay the blanket parallel on the car then lying on the blanket myself, putting my hands behind my head to cushion my head from hitting the hard surface of the car._

_The entirety of the heavens lies before me, the stars twinkling from the atmosphere distorting the light received by them, the planet rotating on its axis, allowing the night sky to rotate with it._

_Though I'm the only one I know who truly loves astronomy, my parents and sister partake in observing the night sky, but eventually fall asleep, leaving me the only one left to observe the night sky in all its glory._

_Hours go by while I'm entranced by the beauty of the night sky, undisturbed by human civilization. The millions of stars burning their finite supply of hydrogen light years away, not knowing that I'm watching them, their past selves as that light is just reaching me._

_Though staying up much longer than the rest of my family, sleep soon begins to take over while I struggle to keep my eyes open just a little longer. Just before I fall asleep, a shooting star blazes across the sky in a streak of blue._

_I know that I must make a wish because I've just seen a shooting star. "I wish for ..." I say to the heavens before dozing off to sleep._

"Now, what did I wish for?" I ask as I awake from the sunlight as it seeps through the drooping branches of the willow. An arm is wrapped over me, preventing me from getting up. Turning my head, I see Layla sleeping comfortably next to me, her sleeping face showing the innocence of the world. Gently pushing away Layla's arm, I get up and cover her with the rest of the blanket before doing my morning stretches to awaken my body for the coming day.

Finishing my morning stretches, I crouch down next to her sleeping body and gently poke at her cheek to awaken her. "Layla, it's time to wake up now. Our journey can't end because someone slept in," I say jokingly.

She opens her eyelids slowly; her eyes dart around to find something familiar until they land on me. Her eyes show guilt as she heard what I said. "Nate, you're not mad at me are you?" she asks, her eyes filled with remorse. Her eyes start to water, sending me on a guilt trip for waking her up.

"Geez Layla, if you say things like that, I'm going to feel guilty for waking you up!" I tell her while dropping my head to express that I feel apologetic. The moment I do this, she starts to feel even worse. Tears begin to well up in her before I stop her. "Layla, relax. It was a joke"

Her eyes slowly stop watering up, leaving the rims of her eyes red. "Nate, do you feel better now?" she asks as if nothing happened just right now.

I sigh. "Firstly, do you feel better?" I ask her because she was about to cry her heart out. "I will answer your question though: yes, I feel better now, thanks to you."

She lights up to my compliment. "That's good, you were really sad last night," she tells me as I remember my episode the previous night. "I think I feel better now," she says as she starts to get up from lying down.

Seeing that the blanket isn't staying to her body, I yell, "STOP!" She freezes in place, unsure as to why I just yelled. "Please make sure the blanket is properly around you or we'll have the same problem as yesterday."

She grabs the blanket and makes sure it properly wraps around her. After fixing it, she sits down in front of me, her stomach making a large rumble. Embarrassed, she says, "Nate, I'm a bit hungry."

I smile and pull out a sandwich from the bag besides me, splitting it in half like last night. "Here you go," I say as I offer her half of the sandwich. Taking my half, I bite into the sandwich, the same taste as the one last night: turkey.

Finishing our sandwich in silence, I grab a water bottle and take a swig, offering the rest to Layla. She takes it and finishes the bottle, giving the empty bottle to me which I crush and place in the bag.

Getting up, I offer my hand to Layla to help her up. "Layla, for travel conveniences, I think it's best if you return to your Pokémon form," I tell her as she gets up.

"Okay, Nate, I understand," she says, downcast. She closes her eyes and a yellow light engulfs her entire body as the blanket falls away from her. Just as quick as it began, it ends, leaving a Pikachu under a blanket. A muffled voice can be heard under the blanket, "Nate, can you help me out of here?"

"Alright then," I retort as I pull the blanket from her. Layla's just lying down on top of her belly. "You ready?" I ask her as I fold the blanket and put it in the bag.

She looks up at me. "Yes Nate, I'm ready," she says as I then pick her up and put her on my shoulder. "Nate, won't your shoulders hurt again?" she asks me while sitting upon my shoulder.

_It's still weird how a Pokémon can just talk nonchalantly. I guess this is something I'll have to get used to while here._

"Nah, don't worry about it," I tell her while turning my head to face her. "It doesn't bother me and I doubt we'll have to go too much farther to get to Cherrygrove City." Splitting the branches to let Layla and me through, we tread on towards the next city.

* * *

_**I**t has been an hour since we left and there's still no sign of Cherrygrove City. I wonder what those bikers meant by "not much further" since we haven't come across the city yet and tall grass is on both sides of the road, hindering both our fields of vision. This kind of gives me the creeps since anything can pop out of the grass without us knowing._

I prick my ears up to try and hear anything rustling in the grass. Nervous by the silence, I ask, "Nate, do you find it weird?" My voice sounds higher than normal. I try again to listen but to no avail, silence is everywhere.

He slows down and finally stops as he turns to me. "What's weird?" he asks, oblivious to the silence surrounding us. A stray wind strikes against the top of grass causing them to rub up against each other, creating a shrill-like sound. I drop my ears and cower into the side of his head. "Is that what's weird?" he asks, unperturbed by the sound.

The wind stops and so does the sound, releasing me from being paralyzed in fear. Still shaken up, I say, "Not that." I prick my ears up again, hearing nothing but our breathing. "This silences that envelopes us is weird. It's like we're the only ones here." I look around to see the city, only to be disappointed that the grass is too tall to see over.

"I think you're just experiencing paranoia, Layla," he says as he starts to walk again. "We've all experienced it at one time, even I have experienced it a couple times before," he says, as if he's just a normal person, no different from anyone else except he's from a different world. "I can tell you a story if you like."

Interested as to what his story will be, I ask, "What type of story?" Curiosity takes over my mind and body. No longer am I shaken up by the wind. A flock of Pidgeys fly in V-formation as they look for their midday meal.

"Oh, just a typical story of paranoia with my own little twist," he says casually before continuing on. "It was a couple of months ago and I was home alone at night. Great start, ain't it?" He continues to carry me on his shoulder as we walk, the tall grass seemingly endless.

I nod; I want him to continue on with his story. He catches my drift, forwarding the story.

"So, I've always been interested in the supernatural, the paranormal, and the otherworldly stuff, since my world is fairly uninteresting," he says the last part pessimistically, though I'm unsure as to why. "Whenever I was home alone, I'd look up videos of these supernatural beings: Sasquatch, chupacabra, ghosts, and aliens among other things. This time was a little different though. I decided to look up something called Slender Man." He takes a sharp inhale, his body tenses slightly as he mentions this being called Slender Man.

I notice his reaction as to mentioning that being. "Nate, is there something wrong?" I ask him, my voice full of concern.

_Should I tell him he can stop if he doesn't want to continue on? He seems uncomfortable with this topic, but this doesn't seem to me like a case of having paranoia._

His eases back to normality. "Nah, I'm fine. Just not a fan of horror." He slowly breathes out, taking a slow intake of breath. "Alright, so this Slender Man character is a human like me, for the most part. In his human form, I think he's six to seven feet tall and wears formal attire," he breaks off, "and he has no face."

_What type of stories to people from Nate's world make up? That's scarier than most of the stories I've heard here._

"Like I was saying before, I was looking up videos of this, mind you I was home alone and I turned off the lights for more effect of scaring of myself. Yes, I'm weird like that but it's kind of fun every once in a while," he tries to justify his reasoning by laughing it off a little. "With my previous description of what I gave, that's all I knew of him and so I watched a documentary plus some "true" footage of him on camera." The grass sways with the wind, giving an eerie atmosphere around us.

"Going on with how this relates to paranoia, while I was watching these videos, alone, at night, I kept feeling like something was behind me. Every time I turned around, nothing was there but I kept feeling like I was being watched. So I had trouble sleeping that night, and the next night. Whatcha think?"

* * *

_**G**od that gives me the creeps! I didn't even say everything about Slender Man and what his true form is and what he does to people. That'd probably give her nightmares. It gave me nightmares! I don't think I'll be saying any more horror stories for a while._

Layla, upon my shoulder, begins to answer the question, "Slender Man appears to be terrifying, but there's probably more to i-" she's cut off as the grass behind us to our right shakes. I turn around abruptly out of fear and prepare myself in case of an attack, but nearly cause Layla to fall off.

"Layla, do you know how to fight?" I hastily say, since she may be the one protecting me from anything that may come out of the bushes. The shaking of the grass intensifies as footsteps could now be heard pounding away at the floor.

"A little," she tells me; my spirit lightens as she says that. "I know how to control some electricity, but nothing major."

"Okay, that's more than enough," I tell her as my first trial of being a Pokémon trainer is about to begin. She jumps off my shoulder onto the ground in front of me as something jumps out of the grass and onto the road.

On all fours, its canine structure stands at about one-and-a-half feet tall. Orange fur with streaks of black along the legs and back. A short, bushy, cream-colored tail with its muzzle, chest, and a tuft of fur on its head sporting the same color as the tail. Its fierce eyes and fighting stance appears that it's going to fight us.

_I kind of wish I had a hat right now so I can flick it back like Ash Ketchum did in the anime. Oh well, time to hopefully defeat this Growlithe._

Layla looks at me as I look at her, her body shaking in fear. "Layla, get ready. We can do this, I believe in you," I tell her confidently which allows her to ease her body, though I can tell she's still scared. The battle theme from Pokémon Gold begins plays in my head.

_Shut up! This isn't a game anymore. Any one of us can get hurt badly and there's no hospital nearby as far as the eye can see._

The music fades but is still playing slightly in the back of my mind. "Layla, attack," I command her as sparks of electricity are being emitted from her red pouches on her cheeks. Electricity engulfs her body as she releases the attack, sending a ball of electricity the size of a fist flying quickly towards the Growlithe. With little room to maneuver, it evades by jumping over the ball of electricity and charging straight for Layla.

_This isn't good. It's going way too fast and dodging would be quite hard due to the limited maneuverability this terrain offers. It's about thirty feet away; I've got an idea._

Quickly, I say, "Layla, store electricity in your body and wait for me to tell you to release it explosively." She doesn't ask questions as I see her cheeks sparking. The Growlithe is now twenty feet away, its paws kicking up the dirt below it.

_Fifteen feet..._

_Ten feet..._

_Five feet..._

_Three feet..._

I yell, "Release!" as an explosion of electricity creates a three feet radius around her, engulfing the charging Growlithe. The light blinds me temporarily as I turn the other way. As my vision returns, I turn around to see the Growlithe lying unconscious on the road. Then I see Layla with a gash along her cheek, bleeding profusely as she lies on the ground, whimpering.

"Nate, it hurts," she whimpers on the ground, blood escaping from her cheek.

I run over to her pulling off the backpack. "Layla!" I say, fearful, as I pick her up in my arms, my hand pressing down on her cheek to slow the bleeding. Searching the bag, I find one of the two potions in which I spray onto her bleeding cheek. The gash heals right before my eyes, the profound bleeding no longer there. Leaving only a two inch scar underneath her red pouch on her left cheek, her injury is virtually gone.

Layla is no longer whimpering in pain but she's not currently awake. Her body exhausted from the fight, she sleeps in my arms as I look for an empty Pokéball in the bag. Grabbing a ball, I let it extract some blood from my finger and toss it at the unconscious Growlithe. The ball opens up and the Growlithe turns into a red energy, getting absorbed into the ball. The ball rocks once before stopping, signaling that the capture was a success.

Still carrying Layla in my arms, I pick up the Pokéball, "It's a Brosky," I say as I remember what I named my Growlithe in my Pokémon game. My hands bloody, I pocket the ball and continue to walk towards Cherrygrove City with the unconscious Layla in my arms.

As I walk in silence, the tall grass starts to recede and I begin to see the human civilization: houses, fences, and about a quarter of a mile away, a town with a tall building with the letter "P" at the top.

Glad to see human settlements again, I quicken the pace. I leave Route 29 and enter Cherrygrove City., "We finally made it," I say to the unconscious Layla in my arms.


	9. Chapter 9 - Welcome to Cherrygrove

**"W**e're finally here," I say as I walk into Cherrygrove City. Since it's about noon, people are walking about in town, eating lunch on the go before they head back to work. It's a lively town.

Carrying the unconscious Layla in my arms, I look around and see a group of kids around the age of twelve kicking a ball around on a field. Though I'm not too familiar with the way sports work, it looks like the kids are playing a variation of soccer except with two balls instead of one. I walk in closer to observe their game.

There are two teams, one with red shirts and the other with blue shirts. A boy and a girl on the blue team dribble the ball between their feet as they run towards the red team. A boy on the red team runs to steal the ball from the girl, only to be tackled by a boy defending the girl as she proceeds to score. The three other players not defending the goalposts on the red team try to steal the ball from both the boy and girl, only to be halted by the defenders on the blue team.

The boy and girl get within kicking distance of their respective goal posts. There are two, which are a little wider than half the size of a soccer goal post. The girl kicks to the right post and the boy, the left post. The defender of the right goalpost jumps to block the incoming ball, only for it to slip through his hands, the ball entering the goal. The boy kicks the ball to the left goalpost, aiming for the top left corner so it can recoil into the goal. The goalie sees this, but his reaction speed is too slow to stop the incoming ball.

The six players on the blue team cheer wildly, carrying both the boy and girl for their spectacular victory. The red team, on the other hand, groups up and walks away, their heads held low, the shame of defeat in their gait.

_I think this sport is a combination between American football and soccer._

Since the game has finished, I walk up to the cheering blue team. One of them turns their head and sees me approaching them, as he turns back to his team to warn them of my arrival. Their cheering soon stops as they all turn to approach me, their hard gaze unwavering.

_Am I considered a threat or something?_

"Congratulations on that spectacular victory," I tell them as I get within twenty feet of them. The girl, who scored previously, steps forward and holds out her hand, warning me to stop my advancement. I slow my pace down, still walking a little forward.

"Stop right there," she commands me. I stop walking forward, coming within fifteen feet of the group. "What do you want?" she asks harshly.

The girl in front of me has an athletic form, her calves defined from the amount of running she does. She's taller than me, as most people are, standing at approximately five feet seven inches. Her black hair is shaped into a ponytail so as to not have her hair in her face while playing the game. Her eyes are squinted as the sun is glaring down at us with all its might.

I am a little taken aback by her hostility. "Since I just arrived in town, I was wondering if any one of you could kindly point me in the direction of the PokéCenter?" I ask kindly, trying to alleviate the hostile air between us.

"Uh huh, so you can abuse your Pokémon again after it's healed." I look at her, confused, not understanding what she means. "Don't try and play dumb, your hands are bloody from the blood of that Pikachu you're carrying."

I look down at my hands, finally noticing that they're stained from Layla's blood after the fight with the Growlithe. Where Layla was cut, blood is still covering her cheek.

_Holy shit! This really makes me look like an abuser: blood on my hands, and on the victim._

I now realize that it's a misunderstanding. "No, no. This is a big misunderstanding. I was attacked on my way here by a wild Pokémon and she got injured. I was too caught up in the moment of healing her that I forgot about the blood." I desperately say, trying to make her understand that I'm not an abuser.

"And why should I believe you?" she mockingly asks, her tone of voice condescending. "That's an excuse all abusers would make up and you're no different."

"It's true," I say, pleading with her. "I just left New Bark Town yesterday and there's no way I'd let my dream to be a Pokémon trainer start with me abusing my Pokémon." My desperation for her to understand involves my raising my voice, stirring the unconscious Layla back to reality.

"Nate, what's wrong?" Layla asks me, lethargically since she just woke up. She turns her head and notices the standoff between me the girl. "Who's she?"

"Thank God you've just woken up," I say to her. "Tell them that I haven't abused you in any way whatsoever," I desperately tell her.

Her voice sounds confused. "Why would you abuse me?" she asks.

"Just tell them. They think I've abused you."

She slightly raises her head to look at the girl in front of us. "Nate hasn't abused me at all!" she exclaims at her, sinking back in my arms, dozing off to the dream realm. I can tell she still has a fear of strangers as her body was shaking in my arms as she spoke.

The girl standing before me is shocked. "Your Pokémon speaks?" she asks, all her former hostility now gone. Her team members behind her also look shocked when Layla spoke.

_Is it really that uncommon for Pokémon to speak in this world? The way she asked was as if it was her first time hearing one speak before._

"Yeah, my Pokémon speaks," I casually answer her question. "Is there something wrong with that?" I ask her, unsure if it's really uncommon to hear a Pokémon speak.

Recovered from her shocked state of being, "There's nothing wrong with it, just quite rare for a trainer to let their Pokémon speak like humans do." She closes her eyes as she thinks for a second. "Okay, I've decided. I won't send the police on you; you've given me enough reason to prove you're innocent."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," I say to her. Then, remembering what I came here for, I ask, "Now, do you mind showing me the way to the PokéCenter, please?"

She nods her head, "Team, do you mind cleaning up? I'm going to take him to the PokéCenter, okay?" Her teammates begin cleaning up the field, grabbing the balls and barrier cones that defined the playing field. "Follow me," she says as she comes up to me.

I begin to follow her, but I am confused. "Why the sudden change of heart?" I ask her. We exit the field, entering the main street upon which I had first entered into.

She turns around sharply, "Have you been living under a Snorlax your whole life? Everyone knows that when a trainer lets their Pokémon speak, they view them as equals, not inferior creatures."

_So the games and anime were wrong in this regard. Pokémon are inferior to their human masters._

Baffled, I ask, "Do you mind elaborating that, please? I'm not from around here, and I personally haven't met any trainers so far." I don't want to start the conversation that I'm from a different world as it'd be too difficult to explain.

"Alright, since I'm kind, I'll tell you. We've got some time till we reach the PokéCenter," her voice is sounding reluctant as if it is a chore to help out.

_My luck is going to run out someday. Holly didn't turn me into bird food and helped me on this journey. Now some girl isn't calling the cops on me and she's showing me the way to the PokéCenter._

We slow to a more casual walking pace. "Here, Pokémon are viewed as lesser beings compared to humans. Even though they have superior abilities compared to us, our intelligence allowed us to capture them and in turn having them become our pets, battle partners, and other things among those lines. You were taught at least this much in school right?" she asks me.

I resort to my typical response to forward the conversation in my favor. "Yeah, I remember something like this being taught in a lesson a few years back, but it has been a while," I lie to her so I don't expose my identity.

She nods her head up and down slightly, "So I'm guessing this is where you decided to dose off in class or something?" I reply with a positive answer so she can continue going. "Okay, so it's not like humans don't care for Pokémon at all. Trainers love their Pokémon very much, but to see them as equals, that's something few trainers imagine."

_Okay, so it's not like humans are abusive to Pokémon, they just don't see them as equals. This is just like how people back on Earth treat livestock, they appreciate them, but would never give them the same rights as humans._

"Then there's the whole other side of the spectrum that deals with people exploiting Pokémon for their own wants. Using Pokémon to steal other Pokémon having them commit other heinous crimes. And then there's people who have Pokémon become sex slaves so they can make some profit off of it," she pauses before saying the next word in total detestation, "Disgusting."

She looks up, "And then there's you: the anomaly of all Pokémon trainers."

_"Technically, I'm an anomaly to this entire world, but continue,"_ is what I'd like to say, but I keep that to myself.

She rephrases what she just said. "Well, you aren't the only one who lets their Pokémon talk, but the few trainers I've met who let their Pokémon speak were all respectable people who'd never abuse their own Pokémon. They were also really powerful trainers, one defeating the sixteen gyms spanning the Kanto-Johto region. So when I heard your Pokémon speak, I just knew you weren't an abusive person at all."

_Well if that presumption holds true, I'll become one hell of a trainer, but I'm not sure if that's even my goal right now. My goal is to find a way home, not battle gym leaders._

As if time just flew by during that whole conversation, she announces, "Here you go, the PokéCenter for all your Pokémon needs." Her way speaking was very commercial-like.

"Well, thank you very much," I tell her.

"You're welcome, and the nurse at the counter, she's my sister, so can you tell her I'll be back in a bit," she tells me, in which I simply nod as she runs back to where she left her teammates.

I now confront the large building in front of me. Many stories high and fairly large, this PokéCenter looked like a full-fledged hospital. The only thing that made it different from hospital was the large, red "P" above the entrance of the hospital and two stone statues of a Chansey with a nurse's cap on located on each side of the entrance.

_So the games had a PokéCenter as a simple building with a Nurse Joy to heal your Pokémon. Now an all-out hospital-like building is before me. I wonder what lies inside, since many things are different from the games themselves._

Amazed, but not distracted by the differences presented, I enter the tinted glass doors. Inside, the room is fairly empty except for a woman sitting behind a counter reading a magazine. Seeing something move in her peripheral vision, she turns her attention away from her reading and sees me with a bloody Pikachu in my arms. Jumping out of her seat, she directs towards me in a slightly commanding voice, "Come over here, I need to see if your Pikachu is okay."

The nurse looks young, her youth radiating over her smooth skin. She has black hair like her sister's, but short, only going to the nape of her neck. Her facial features are similar to her sister's except her eyes aren't as squinted. The nurse uniform fits perfectly on her upper body, defining her thin figure.

Not going to defy her, I pick up the pace to a light jog even though she's only twenty feet away, allowing me to arrive to her in three seconds. The nurse sets down a small foam block for me to put Layla on. As I set Layla's unconscious body upon the foam block, it conforms to the edges of her body. The nurse immediately begins to examine Layla's body for any injuries after she wipes the dried blood off with a damp cloth.

_I hope she isn't injured any more than the scar now on her cheek. Please, nurse, please say there's nothing wrong with her._

After five minutes of the nurse examining Layla, I stand uncomfortably as I wait for Layla's diagnosis. The nurse stops examining Layla and looks at me. "You're in luck. She's not injured, just exhausted, though I'd like to know where all this blood came from."

Relieved that Layla's okay, I ease up to explain to the nurse. "On our way here from New Bark Town, we encountered a wild Growlithe who attacked us. During the final seconds of the fight, Layla got scratched on her cheek which I healed immediately with a potion though she now has a battle scar." Something in my pocket keeps pressing against my skin, reminding me that I had caught the Growlithe. Pulling out the red and white Pokéball from my pocket, I give it to her to heal. "I caught the Growlithe, but it needs healing."

She takes the ball from my hand, but doesn't take it away to be healed. "I'm going to need to see your trainer card first."

_Trainer card... trainer card... Ah! That electronic registration device told me to pick up my trainer card at a PokéCenter._

Bringing the backpack to the front, I open up the pocket and dig inside for the device. Feeling it at the bottom of the bag, I pull it out and offer it to her. "I don't have a trainer card, but this thing told me I'd receive one when I turn this in," I tell her as if turning this in is the right thing to do.

Her eyes bulge open as she sees the device in my hands, nearly dropping the Pokéball I just gave her. She takes the device carefully from my hands, turning it on. "Do you realize what you've just given me?" she asks, her voice more in awe than actual curiosity.

"Uh, no," I say to her, not knowing what she means. "What do you mean by that? Isn't that just a normal registration device?" Though I'm not from this world, my original thought process was that those electronic devices were given to all trainers to fill out.

She scoffs at my question. "Normal? If you consider V.I.P. exclusive access normal, then it's normal," she says sarcastically. She sees the confusion in my body language as I try to comprehend what she's saying. "Wait, you really don't know?"

I shake my head, "No, I don't understand what you've given me."

This is more of a shock to her than when she saw the device. "This is a V.I.P. trainer registration device which the most elite families pay for any of their family wanting to be a trainer. These cost a hefty hundred million bills each and how you came across this and not knowing what this is is beyond me."

_A hundred million bills! Even though I don't know what the exchange rate is, this definitely is worth a lot._

Stuttering due to disbelief, "Uh...uh…What does it do?"

"Everything and anything," she says right away. "All services provided at any PokéCenter in the Johto region are free of charge. Services include medical reasons, sleeping accommodations, and the food court; everything in the PokéCenter." The intonation of her voice changing to a whisper, "I don't want to pry, but did you obtain this legally?"

_Can this day get any better? V.I.P. access to everything, damn I'm lucky._

Thinking about her question for a bit, I answer, "The person who helped me out to start my Pokémon trainer journey gave this to me. Whether she obtained legally or not is beyond me."

"That sounds good to me," she says lazily. "Let me register you as a trainer and I'll go heal your Growlithe. All your Pikachu needs is some rest, so you can take it now."

"Thank you," I tell her as I pick up Layla from her foam bed. Looking around the lobby, I find a chair to sit on while I wait for her to return. Sitting down after finding a chair to the right of the counter, I allow Layla to sleep on my lap. Suddenly remembering something, I turn to the nurse, "Your sister, the athlete, says she'll be back in a bit."

She looks up from her computer as she's registering me. "Ah, Emily. She's always here after she finishes her practices. Okay, thanks for telling me," she says as she goes back to registering me.

I now take a good look of the PokéCenter lobby as I wasn't able to earlier. In perspective of the entrance, to the left is a waiting room is. To the right, where I'm located, are some chairs, an elevator, and a hallway leading to places unknown to me.

As I'm observing the lobby, Emily, the athlete, enters. "Hey, Sis, I'm back!" she exclaims. She then notices me sitting on a chair, "You're still here. Is your Pikachu alright?"

I look up to her. "Yeah, she's fine. All she needs is some rest." I look down at Layla as she is sleeping soundly upon my lap.

A chime is heard from the behind the counter as the nurse announces, "Nate, your trainer card is ready, and Growlithe is healed." She sees Emily. "Oh, Emily, how was your game today?"

Emily makes a huge grin, "We beat their asses big time. They didn't score at all and Brian and I scored the final points in a double goal."

I pick up Layla and head over to the counter, putting her back on the block of foam. I grab the Pokéball on the counter, but can't find the card anywhere. The nurse sees me looking around and holds out her hand for her sister to stop talking. "Wait up Emily, I need to help Nate out." Emily stops talking as the nurse turns to me, "I need to take your picture real quick, so if you don't mind, can you get behind this counter and stand in front of this wall," she says as she opens up the counter with a swinging door.

Standing where she wanted me to, she has in her hand a digital camera connected to the computer. Creating a small grin on my face, she takes a single photo of me. "Is it good?" I ask her as I have a tendency of having pictures of myself not look good.

"Yeah, it's good," she says as she presses a button on the keyboard. From the computer itself, a card is printed instantaneously which the nurse hands over to me. "Here's your card."

"Thank you," I say to her as she opens the swinging door to allow me to get to the lobby again. The card looks like a typical driver's license except with a symbol of a red and white Pokéball in the background. All my information is there: name, date of birth, height, weight, blood type, and card type.

Emily then quickly walks up to me. "Let me see your card." Handing it over to her, she looks over the card. "V.I.P.? Who are you?" she slowly raises her head from card, she now looking at me.

Though I'd normally make a smart-alecky remark, I don't, since I haven't gotten to know her to well. Instead I say, "I am Nate Mendoza, sixteen years old, and a newly-registered Pokémon trainer."

"No, not that," she utters. "How did you obtain V.I.P. access? I've never seen a V.I.P. card holder before, and I at least expected them to know a little something about Pokémon in the first place."

She holds out the card in which I take it and put in my pocket. "I was given this card not knowing what it does, and like I said before, I'm not from around here."

The nurse overhears our banter. "Nate, where are you from, then?" she asks me.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too. Where in the world do you have to live to not know how the human-Pokémon relationship works?" her sister says to me.

_I can't just let everyone know I'm not of this world. They'll think I'm crazy. Just got to be ambiguous with my answer and quickly ask the nurse for a room to sleep in._

"Just not from around here," I say rather quickly before proceeding with my question. "Nurse, are there any rooms available for me to rest? It's been a long day and my Pokémon need their rest too."

"Call me Jenna," she tells me as she holds out her hand. "Yes, we have rooms, but I need to swipe your card first." I take the card out from my pocket and offer it to her.

Emily notices I evaded the question. "Hold up. You didn't answer the question at all." She pulls in closer to me, almost grabbing my shoulder to turn me around to face her.

Jenna turns sharply to her sister. "Emily, let it be," she says sharply. Emily stops her hand before touching me.

"But sister-" she pleads as she absolutely must know what the personal life a complete stranger is.

Jenna again says sharply, enunciating each word, "Let. It. Be." Emily backs away from me, her head down. Jenna now turns back to me, "Sorry about that. We have rooms available. Would you like the normal accommodations or V.I.P. accommodations?"

I think about it before answering, "I'll take the V.I.P. room please. I have a V.I.P. card, do I not?"

"Yes, yes you do have one," she says as she plugs some data into the computer before handing me back my card. "Your room is on the top floor, room number four. Just slide your I.D. card into the door and it'll let you in." I take the card back. "Oh don't forget your Pokémon," she says as she puts the Pokéball by Layla.

"Thanks," I tell her. Grabbing the ball first, I put it in my pocket before picking up Layla. Turning around, I see Emily still sulking, but I don't take heed to her as I head to the elevator.

I press the arrow button that points up, and the elevator door opens immediately. Walking inside, I see the buttons designating each floor, the highest one being fifteen. I press it, and the door closes as familiar elevator music is playing through the speakers.

A minute passes for the elevator to reach the fifteenth floor and once the doors open, I quickly leave to find room four. Noticing a number "4" at the end of the hallway, I head toward it, my card still in hand. I slide the card into the slot. "Let's see what V.I.P. really is," I say as I open the door.

* * *

**I** wait for the elevator doors to close in front of Nate before turning to Emily's sulking figure in front of me. "Emily."

She looks up from her sulked figure, her eyes downcast. "Jen, why'd you stop me from getting an answer from him?"

She's always been aggressive and if she doesn't get her way, she becomes like this. Always.

She sighs, "Emily," and pauses immediately afterwards. "People are entitled to their own secrets they don't wish to tell anyone. That was Nate's secret, and he didn't want to tell it."

Contrary to what I wanted, Emily's eyes burn with determination, "Then I'll find out that secret whether he likes it not. Jen, I'm going to travel with Nate with or without his and your consent. Jen, I would like my trainer card back now since you've been holding it for me."

She's shocked by what she just said. "What?"


	10. Chapter 10 - Interrogation

**A**mazement is struck upon my face as I enter the VIP room given to me. Lying before me is a decent-sized living room with modern decor. To the left side of the room is a sleek white couch pushed against the corner as it faces a flat screen television mounted on the white wall. Directly in front of the couch is a square, white coffee table.

The biggest thing, though, that catches my eye is the window that faces the ocean. Carrying Layla in one hand, I walk to the window right beside the couch and open it up, allowing the sea breeze to enter. "How could I've forgotten that Cherrygrove is by the sea?" I breathe in the salty air before closing the window so I can look around the room again.

A kitchen with modern appliances is to the right of the entrance. Black cabinets, white marble countertops, and stainless-steel appliances complimented the modern look this VIP room held. I sigh, "I wish I paid attention to all those times my parents cooked…"

Trying to cheer myself up from my lack of cooking knowledge, I notice that there are doors on my left and right sides. Going to the one on the right as it is closer to me, I open the door to a bedroom.

As opposed to the white furniture in the main room, the bedroom has a black, queen-sized bed with white pillows to contrast the darkness. White floor to black walls, and black nightstand to white drawers; everything in the room gives a nice black and white contrast, further embracing the modernistic approach the designers were looking for.

Walking to the right side of the bed, I gently place the sleeping Layla under the covers. Now able to comfortably take off the backpack, I set it down at the foot of the bed as I walk around towards the left side. I take my shirt off and lie down, only to remember something pressing against my pocket.

_Did I forget something?_

Reaching into my pants pocket, I pull out the Growlithe's Pokéball. "Ah, so this is what I forgot," I say as I put it on the nightstand. Now able to finally get some rest, I rest my head upon the feathery pillow as I drift off into the realm of sleep.

* * *

**"E**mily, what are you doing?" my sister Jenna asks me urgently while I start to pack my bags.

I quickly turn my head towards her, stopping my actions for a little while as I explain to her the situation. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing to become a trainer." I return back to packing my bag after saying what needed to be said.

Jenna comes up to me and grabs my arms, immobilizing my movements while looking straight into my eyes. "You are a seventeen-year-old girl. I don't know what got you so hooked on that boy earlier, but you are not to become a trainer," she says strictly at me.

I am unperturbed by the strictness of her voice. "Weren't you the one who wanted to become a Pokémon trainer and inspired me to do the same? Weren't you the one who said you'd support any decision I made? Weren't you the one who gave up on your dream, but told me not to give up on mine?" I tell her firmly while she is still holding my arms.

Her grip starts to slacken, eventually releasing and stepping back. "Yes, I've said and done all of that," she says as she looks down to the floor, gloomily uttering those words.

Walking to my downcast sister, I put both my hands on her shoulder and now it's my turn to look at her in the eyes. "Sis, I've made my decision to become a trainer, and I'm not going to back down on this opportunity."

She raises her head up. "But Em, it's a dangerous world out there. Who knows what could happen to you…?" her voice shaking as she tries to hold back the emotions.

Lightening the mood, I smile to her, "And I'll promise right now that I'll come back safe after becoming a trainer."

She tries smiling back, but I can tell she doesn't like my answer. "What about your sports and friends in this city? They'll surely miss you. You know that, right?"

"The team would do fine without me. They've got enough good players even without me. Also, I'd be going off to school soon, so I'd have to leave my friends anyways," I tell her, making sure my points are valid.

She sighs as I take my hands off her shoulder, "I don't like it, but I did say I'd support any decision you made, so I'll go get you your card." She leaves my room as she goes back to the PokéCenter which is three houses away.

Waiting for the front door to shut, I jump up and down in ecstasy. "Yeah, I can finally become a trainer!" I yell out loud before I continue to pack up again.

_Now how should I address the problem with Nate? Force myself on him and make him take me or ask kindly? But with the second one, he may say no. It doesn't hurt since I have a backup plan. Kindly ask him first but if that fails, make him take me._

"This is gonna be fun."

* * *

_**H**ow long have I been asleep? All I remember is Nate healing me after the battle and then saying something about not being an abuser. What was that all about anyways? Better wake up before he wakes me up instead._

Getting out from under the covers and opening my eyes, the setting sun streams orange light through the window, brightening the contrasting black and white decor of the room. Panic sets in as I'm unfamiliar with my surroundings in which I start to hyperventilate. Terrified if I've been kidnapped, I jerk my head around until I see Nate sleeping comfortably on the bed besides me.

_Thank goodness…_

Relieved, my heart rate steadily returns back to normal as I jump off the bed and stretch my cramped legs. "Ah, that feels good," I let out quietly. I pace around the room to get the blood flowing in my muscles. I take notice of a full body mirror but with me being in my Pikachu form, I'm unable to see myself in it.

"Being small has its disadvantages…" I say disappointingly as I walk away from the mirror. In doing so, an idea pops up in my head.

_Can't I change into my humanoid form and look at myself like that?_

Returning back to the mirror, I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and try to search for that swirling energy in me that I noticed when I first changed forms. Quickly finding it, I focus my concentration on it and allow it to spread throughout my body, illuminating the room in a yellow glow, lasting for only a couple seconds.

Opening my eyes, I observe for the first time what my humanoid body looks like. I have black eyes, blond hair, yellow-tinted skin, and a scar underneath my left eye.

"Kya!" I scream, startled, but catching myself immediately as I hear Nate turnover in the bed. Returning my attention back to the scar, I trace the healed-over wound as I remember the agonizing pain it caused me this morning. I then remember how Nate quickly came to my aid and healed me of this injury.

"He's such a nice guy," I say under my breath as I play over this morning's scenario again.

As my ears are still as sensitive to sound as if I were in my Pikachu form, I hear Nate mutter something, prompting me to turn around. As I see that he's still sleeping, I notice on the nightstand beside him is a standard, red and white Pokéball. Silently edging my way to the nightstand, I hold the ball in my hand.

_So this is what it feels like to hold my very own Pokéball. It's not heavy at all, kind of light, actually. Ok, I'm going to see what it looks like inside the ball._

As I was present when Holly was explaining how a Pokéball works to Nate, I remember that I have to press these two buttons on the side of the ball. Getting ready to press the buttons, I take a deep breath as it's unheard of for a Pokémon to use a Pokéball.

"Alright, here I go," I say under my breath as I press the two buttons to open the ball.

Contrary to what I was expecting, red light escapes the ball landing five feet in front of me and forms into the shape of a Growlithe; the very Growlithe that attacked us this morning.

Curled up on the floor, the orange canine is sleeping soundly while I'm panicking.

_What do I do? What do I do? It could wake up at any moment and attack me or Nate. Ah...ah...I'll change back into a Pikachu and wake up Nate. He'll know what to do._

Closing my eyes and finding that swirling energy within me, I again transform as yellow light radiates throughout the room, waking the Growlithe from its slumber. Slowly opening its eyes, it looks around until it notices me and begins barking at me. With the Pokéball within my paws, I drop it as I start to shiver in fear from this canine.

Though I'm still shivering in fear, I jump onto the bed where Nate's sleeping and I begin to call his name to wake him up.

"Nate! Wake up! Nate!" I desperately call out to him.

* * *

_**W**ho's making this infernal racket while I'm trying to sleep? Ugh, I won't be able to go back to sleep with this._

Opening my eyes, I see Layla on the side of me shaking in fear as she's desperately calls my name. She then stops calling me as she sees that I'm now awake.

"Nate, I'm so sorry," she urgently says as she points to the barking Growlithe and the Pokéball on the floor.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, I quickly get up, which causes me to get a little light-headed. Barely able to stay balanced, I drop to the floor to grab the Pokéball to put the Growlithe back inside. Still on the floor, I throw the ball at the Growlithe in front of me, only to have it swat the ball back at me with its paw.

The ball flies back at me and hits me on the chest with enough force to leave a bruise as I get into a kneeling position on the floor. Grabbing the area with my left hand where the ball hit me, I pick up the ball with my other hand and set the number at the bottom of the ball to its max, which is ten.

Immediately, the mental strain of putting the ball to max begins to affect my body. Large thumping rages on in my head, and just like having a massive headache would affect me, the pain is nearly unbearable. Sweat droplets begin forming on my brow as some start to trickle down and enter my eyes, turning them red.

With what little strength left in me, I look at the Growlithe straight in the eyes with mine being bloodshot, and command it to stop, "Stop right now, and sit down."

Doing as I said, Growlithe stops barking and sits down, though it has a snarl on its mouth. Even though I don't like its hostile attitude, I try to get up onto the bed, though the throbbing intensifies, which induces nauseous-like symptoms.

_Oh damn, I'm going to hurl real soon if I keep this dog at max control._

Knowing that I have very little time before my bodily functions start to overtake me, I roll the number down by about three on the ball, greatly relieving me of the throbbing headache and nausea.

This time I'm able to get up onto the bed as I now look at Layla. "You're going to translate everything it says to me," I say to her sternly. She simply nods as she hangs her head down.

I now return my gaze back to the Growlithe, who still has a snarl on its face. With the same stern voice I used on Layla I now use on the Growlithe, "You're going to answer all the questions I ask you, or you're going to go in here and never come out," I tell it as I show it the Pokéball in my hands. Though I know the threat is not true, what I said knocks the snarl off of its face.

Pleased with myself, I now commence the interrogation. "What is your name?"

Quickly answering the question, it lowly barks under its breath with the occasional growl.

As it finishes, I look at Layla, who translates the whole thing though she has distanced herself somewhat from me. "He says he doesn't have a name as no one has ever given one to him before," she says, her voice quivering slightly. I close my eyes as I begin to think.

_So it's a male. Ok, if he decides to stay with me, I'll have to give him a name. I can't just call him "Growlithe" or "dog" the whole time._

Opening my eyes and returning my gaze to the Growlithe, I continue on with my questioning, "Why did you attack us this morning?"

Again, he answers my question, but this time his answer is much longer as there are more low barks and growls coming from his mouth.

Without me even turning, Layla translates what he just said. "He said he hasn't eaten in two days and he smelled food coming from our direction. The only thing he could've done when he confronted us is either run and not eat, or attack and potentially get some food from us."

"Hmm, so you're still hungry I presume?" I ask him in which his stomach simple growls, answering my question. "Okay, one more question: do you want to be with me?" I ask him, "Because if you don't, I can release you from my ownership of you and return you back to the wild."

This piques both Layla's and the Growlithe's attention. The Growlithe looks down and lowly growls something to himself as Layla looks at me. "I thought all trainers kept all the Pokémon they've caught regardless if it wants to stay with them?"

This time it's my turn to answer a question, "Remember, I'm not from around here and keeping someone or something with me against its will is not my sort of thing."

Upon hearing our conversation, the Growlithe barks at Layla, who then translates what he said, "He says he'd like to stay with us for the meantime."

I nod my head up and down with my eyes closed. "Okay, okay. I'll have to give you a name, then, but first we need food with it being almost dinnertime and all," I say with a more joyous tone as I forgot the stern voice I used in the questioning.

Getting off of the bed, I walk towards the door that leads into the living room. Layla and the Growlithe in turn both follow me, but they keep some distance from each other.

"Nate, where are we going?" Layla asks me as I go grab my shoes by the shoe rack.

"I'll be going to pick up some food while you two wait here for me to come back. If you want, I can turn on the TV," I tell both of them.

Layla then looks at me in horror. "You're going to leave us alone? Let me go with you. Anything can happen," she pleads with me which doesn't deter me from my decision.

"Layla, I need some alone time at the moment." I now turn to both them who are looking at me, "And if anything bad happens while I'm gone, no dinner for either of you."

Both of them just nod their heads. "Okay then, I'll be back in a bit," I say as I open the door to leave. While I walk to the elevator, I mumble to myself, "I hope I did the right thing."


End file.
